Assignment 2: Discussion—Leadership Challenges in Today’s Environment

There are some who argue that leaders face unprecedented demands as we enter the 21st century. The pace of organizations is faster than ever due to technology advances and impatience in stakeholder groups. There is increased diversity due to globalization. The workforce is more nomadic; few people today spend their entire careers in a single company. This puts a lot of pressure on leaders and may demand new or evolved competencies.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, including general organizational sources like the Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, or Harvard Business Review, research the demands facing 21st century leaders.

Then, respond to the following:

• What are the challenges facing leaders in today’s environment? Consider both internal and external challenges within an organization.
• Describe the impact of those challenges on today’s leaders. Explain how leaders need to respond to them.
• Discuss at least three–four core competencies that you think leaders need to be effective in today’s environment. Explain how these competencies will address the challenges you identified.

Now that you have conducted research and prepared a research outline, you should develop a rough draft of your research paper. Keep in mind that the final paper is due in Module 05.

Your Rough Draft should include:

• A minimum of five pages
• A minimum of 3 – 5 references
• Follow the logical path of your research paper outline

The Case Scenario

he Delta Pacific Company (DPC) has a long history of success. The company has been at the fore front in the development of information technology since the 1970s and led the market in technology development, manufacturing and sales throughout the 1980s to the mid-1990s. DPC was a success story. They consistently met or exceeded their profit targets, successfully integrated new technology into their products, and they were considered one of the best employers in the country. With generous benefit packages, a high quality of work life, industry leading salaries, and a corporate culture that considered its employees to be part of a family, potential employees were lined up for opportunities to join DPC.

However, with the advent of globalization, freer trade, and low cost overseas labor, DPC found itself slowly losing market share for its primary product: computer hardware. DPC had prided itself on producing and selling the best products and training its sales force to develop long term relationships with clients that brought them back year in and year out for DPC’s technology. Along with hardware, DPC also sold service contracts and training classes for the end users of their products. By the late 1990s it became clear to the leadership at DPC that they could no longer compete with less expensive products being produced overseas. At one time they could sell their higher priced goods on the premise that they were of higher quality, but that was no longer the case. Foreign-made products were now being produced to match or even surpass the quality standards set by DPC. However, conversations between sales representatives and their clients did indicate one thing: the clients valued the personal interaction they had with the sales reps and the personalized advice that they could provide to their clients to help them to reach their goals. DPC recognized that they needed to make a change and they believed they had a new vision for their company.

As they entered the 21st century DPC moved away from hardware solutions to business challenges and shifted instead towards knowledge-based solutions. Rather than selling equipment, DPC began to market the extensive knowledge of their workforce. DPC would no longer sell the equipment; they would instead provide integrated knowledge-based solutions to information management problems. Essentially they would become a consulting firm that would assist their clients to set up systems that would facilitate information management. But now their solutions would go beyond hardware and encompass software, organizational design, data collection management, work flow and overall information management re-engineering. Sales reps underwent significant training to prepare them for their new roles. However, the redesigned jobs were not a good fit for all of the sales reps. some moved on to other types of positions within the company, but others left to pursue opportunities elsewhere.

As expected, profitability declined during the initial introduction of this new organization mission as employees became accustomed to their new roles. Due to the time taken to train employees, they were spending less time in the field with their clients generating revenue and more time in the classroom being oriented to their new roles. However, the decline persisted much longer than anticipated and the company’s leadership team, board of directors and the shareholders were growing impatient with the slow returns. It became increasingly apparent that while the training, resources, and equipment were in place, significant changes in the organizational behavior system at DPC were necessary to ensure long term success.

I am in need of assistance with the following assignment to be completed. Thanks.

Due Week 10 and worth 400 points

Select a publicly traded corporation for which you would like to work or are currently working.

Research the corporation on its own Website, the public filings on the Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR database (http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml), in the University’s online databases, and any other sources you can find. The annual report will often provide insights that can help address some of these questions.

Write an eight to ten (8-10) page paper in which you:

1. Determine the impact of the company’s mission, vision, and primary stakeholders on its overall success.
2. Analyze the five (5) forces of competition to determine how they impact the company.
3. Create a SWOT analysis for the company to determine its major strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
4. Based on the SWOT analysis, outline a strategy for the company to capitalize on its strengths and opportunities, and minimize its weaknesses and threats.
5. Discuss the various levels and types of strategies the firm may use to maximize its competitiveness and profitability.
6. Outline a communications plan the company could use to make the strategies you recommend above known to all stakeholders.
7. Select two (2) corporate governance mechanisms used by this corporation and evaluate how effective they are at controlling managerial actions.
8. Evaluate the effectiveness of leadership within this corporation and make at least one (1) recommendation for improvement.
9. Assess efforts by this corporation to be a responsible (ethical) corporate citizen and determine the impact these efforts (or lack thereof) have on the company’s bottom line. Provide specific examples to support your response.
10. Use at least five (5) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Determine ways in which the vision, mission, and stakeholders of a firm impact that firm’s overall success.
• Identify how the six segments of the general environment affect an industry and its firms.
• Identify the five forces of competition.
• Analyze the external environment for opportunities and threats that impact the firm.
• Analyze the internal environment of a company for strengths and weaknesses that impact the firm’s competitiveness.
• Identify various levels and types of strategy in a firm.
• Predict ways in which corporate governance will affect strategic decisions.
• Assess the relationship between strategy and organizational structure.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in business administration.
• Write clearly and concisely about business administration using proper writing mechanics.

Visit a museum or gallery exhibition or attend a theater, dance, or musical performance before the end of Week 9. The activity (museum or performance) should have content that fits our course well. Have fun doing this.

Visiting a Museum

• It makes sense to approach a museum the way a seasoned traveler approaches visiting a city for the first time. Find out what is available to see. In the museum, find out what sort of exhibitions are currently housed in the museum and start with the exhibits that interest you.
• If there is a travelling exhibition, it’s always a good idea to see it while you have the chance. Then, if you have time, you can look at other things in the museum.
• Every effort should be made ahead of time to identify a museum that has items and works one can easily connect to our HUM 112 class and book. Since HUM 112 covers from 1600 AD to the present, it makes more sense to focus on items from this time frame. In general, museums with fine arts work better than history museums.
• Any questions about whether a museum-visit activity fits the course and assignment well enough will be decided by the instructor when the student seeks approval for the activity. Any alternative activity outside the normal ones listed here, such as for those limited by disability or distance, will be determined by the instructor. Normally, we do not expect students to travel over an hour to get to an approved activity.
• Make notes as you go through the museum and accept any handouts or pamphlets that the museum staff gives you. While you should not quote anything from the printed material when you do your report, the handouts may help to refresh your memory later.
• The quality of your experience is not measured by the amount of time you spend in the galleries or the number of works of art that you actually see. The most rewarding experiences can come from finding two or three (2 or 3) pieces of art or exhibits which intrigue you and then considering those works in leisurely contemplation. Most museums have benches where you can sit and study a particular piece.
• If you are having a difficult time deciding which pieces to write about, ask yourself these questions: (1) If the museum you are visiting suddenly caught fire, which two (2) pieces of art or exhibits would you most want to see saved from the fire? (2) Why would you choose those two (2) particular pieces?

Attending a Performance

• Check your local colleges to see if there are any free or low-cost performances or student recitals. Student performances are generally of almost the same quality as professional performances, but typically cost much less. However, performances of high school level or lower will not meet this requirement.
• Try to do a quality performance that fits the class subject matter well. Sorry—but this is not for pop music or rock music, rap, country music, gospel music, comedy routines, your kid’s dance recital, your international friend’s wedding, high school plays, renaissance fairs, etc. Instead, think of college level or professional recitals, string quartets, symphony orchestras, opera, jazz, some stage dramas, etc.

• Any questions about whether a performance activity fits the course and assignment well enough will be decided by the instructor when the student seeks approval for an activity. Any alternative activity outside the normal ones listed here, such as for those limited by disability or distance, will be determined by the instructor. Normally, we do not expect students to travel over an hour to get to an approved activity.
• Unlike visiting a museum, where you can wear almost anything, people attending performances are often expected to “dress up” a bit.
• Take a pen or pencil with you and accept the program you are offered by the usher; you will probably want to take notes on it during or after the performance.
• Turn off your cell phone before entering the auditorium. Do not use your phone to record the music or to take pictures or videos. To play it safe, turn the phone off.
• Most long musical performances have at least one (1) intermission. If the lights start blinking, it is the sign that the performance is about to begin.
• Look for very specific things (such as a particular piece of music or the way certain instruments sounded at a specific time) which tend to stand out as either enjoyable or not enjoyable. Be sure to take notes of the things which you find enjoyable as well as the things which are not enjoyable.
• Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
  • Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA Style format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. (Note: Students can find APA style materials located in the Additional Resources section of their Student Center within their course shell for reference)
  • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

  The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

  • Explain the importance of situating a society’s cultural and artistic expressions within a historical context.
  • Examine the influences of intellectual, religious, political, and socio-economic forces on social, cultural, and artistic expressions.
  • Use technology and information resources to research issues in the study of world cultures.
  • Write clearly and concisely about world cultures using proper writing mechanics

Should the Public Subsidize the Arts?