Case Study

Imagine you’re the VP of Human resources for a Fortunate 100 company. You’ve spent your entire career attempting to enhance the workplace for employees to support their productive work in the organization. While you understand that bottom-line decisions often dominate many of the matters you have to address. You have worked hard to ensure that the employees were treated with respect and dignity in all interactions that affected them. You aligned the hiring process to serve the strategic needs of the organization, as well as implemented an effective performance management system. You truly believe in the progress you’ve made in helping the organization achieve its goals. You simply couldn’t imagine doing things differently. However, concern that the performance management process is becoming less effective because managers are inflating employee ratings has led 15 percent of all large organizations to adjust their performance management to what is frequently called “rank and yank”. Under such a system, managers are evaluated as 1, 2, 3 or 4, with 1 being the highest rating and 4 the lowest. In many cases, managers are required to give a 4 rating to the lowest 10 percent of employees each year. Those individuals receiving a rating of 4 for two consecutive years are often let go from the organization.

The intent behind this system is that the throughout the two year process, evaluators are to meet frequently with the four employees, counsel them and provide necessary development opportunities. Employees in organizations that employ such a performance management system often view this process unbearable. They view the performance management process as punitive, one in which the organization is attempting to rid itself of higher-paid older workers. In at least one case, Ford Motor Company employees have filed a lawsuit to stop this practice­­­­­­­—and prevailed .Ford removed the punitive nature of its evaluation system—and focused it more on counselling and performance improvement of the lowest-rated employees rather than elimination from the organization.

Source: Textbook- DeCenzo, D. A., & Robbins, S. P. (2013). Human resource management

• Reconstruct the theories of Fayol, Weber, Taylor, and Gullick. Suggest two
  (2) ways in which the management process enhances organizational efficiency.
  Include at least two (2) examples to support your response.  

• Select one (1) agency (Administration for Children and Families), and review its organizational
  structure. Next,  infer whether the organizational structure is conducive to
  maximum efficiency and performance of the organization. Provide a rationale to
  support your position.

• In Chapter 8 (p.300) of the textbook, Denhardt & Denhardt  stated that
  human beings often appear “irrational” in terms of the system, even though what
  they are doing, from their point of view, may be perfectly rational. Refer to
  the examples below, then construct another two (2) examples that support
  Denhardt & Denhardt’s statement.  

  1. Individuals
complaining to the Utilities Commission about paying for power during power
outages when no power is running
  2. Individuals complaining
about  the inefficiencies of Bureau of Motor Vehicles
  3.
Individuals complaining about the structural and procedural issues that
influenced the response to Katrina victims 

The exercises represents research and work that is required to complete the three projects.

When asked to do research, your will be using the Internet to assess
different areas of planning. It is important to not over think this
work as the information being researched is easily available and is not
complex. You will be specific in the responses provided and will not be
using prepared work on the industry. This is a critical point as the
exercise is about you doing the work and not someone else.

Scenarios:

1. Location

In the 20^th Century, many organizations focused on goals,
cost, and efficiency in production to keep a business profitable. In
today’s business environment, for businesses to remain sustainable a
competitive advantage must be maintained either by price, new product
ventures, location, innovation in the marketplace, etc.

You will begin to put together the process of bringing a new product
line into Biotech’s business model to stimulate growth in a new product
sector, infant formula, while remaining true to the company’s current
Mission “To develop products that are safe, effective, affordable and natural with the customer’s health always their primary goal.”

This new Infant Formula Division of Biotech will be located in a U.S.
location or overseas and the company intends for it to be a leader in
the use of sustainable products using the latest innovations for
production and delivery to our global customers.

Consider this information:

Recently, Geraldine Barney Garrett, the granddaughter of Wilford
Barney who held the reins of the R&D department for Biotech Health
and Life Products in 1965, retired and Geraldine’s own granddaughter,
Melanie Malone, took over the department. Melanie is qualified for the
job. She was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Maryland
College Park with a double major in Botany and Food Science. She
minored in Business Management. She had worked in the plant in Chicago
every summer since High School and had reproduced and revised all her
grandmother’s and great-great grandmother’s recipes. Starting full-time
at 22 years of age Melanie got along with everyone in the department
but at 27 Geraldine thought she may be too young to assume the position,
but Melanie has shown strong managerial and leadership qualities since
stepping into the role. Melanie wants the company to be a leader in
innovative ways to be a sustainable company using green technologies as
well as friendly to the environment, animals, and human health.

Maximillian Barney, the President, CEO and Wilford Barney’s
grandchild, decided the challenge of deciding on a location for the new
Infant Formula Division as well as the search for a Division Director
would fall on Melanie. Since Melanie is passionate about keeping
business focused on all-natural products and developing ecofriendly
packaging, Max felt she would ensure the company would bring in someone
who would seek innovative, green, and sustainable ways to bring Biotech
into this new venture effectively, while also ensuring the products are
designed, developed, tested and delivered with the organizations Vision
and Mission in mind.

Melanie has contracted a small minority owned consulting firm,
Expert Foods Consultants, to conduct research on the best location for
the new plant that meets Biotech’s expectations. The consultancy firm
is also able to launch the new products per Melanie’s mandates for green
sustainability and innovation. A group has been assembled within the
firm to decide on a location for the plant. Melanie has narrowed her
preferences down to Ohio and China and wants the firm to present the
best option to her.

2. Candidate

In week 1 the question, “Who is a manager and what is their job in an
organization?” was asked. As Biotech launches a new product division
to design, develop and deliver infant formula globally, the company will
need to bring in someone to manage this division. The desire from
Melanie Malone, the head of R&D who has been tasked with identifying
the person to lead this new division, is that the new Executive
Director for the Infant Formula Division will be open to new innovative
ways to develop green and sustainable products that will not only be
popular among the traditional Biotech customer base, but will also be
the face of the organization when marketing the products. Partnering
with the small consulting firm, Expert Foods, Melanie will be vetting
three potential candidates who will jump right in and begin the
development of management plans that will be used to establish the new
division. A senior representative from the firm was on the panel for
the interview, and the transcripts of the interview have been given to
the Expert Foods team that is helping Melanie with her tasking. The new
Executive Director will be a Manager of the 21^st Century who
will be able to incorporate the values, culture and traditions of
Biotech with the values and traditions of the host nation employees that
will be hired as managers and employees.

In addition, the Executive Director will be the face of the marketing
brand in the beginning and this new employee will need to be able to
motivate not only the employee base on these new products but also
motivate a new customer base for Biotech on the ‘difference’ Biotech
will bring to the infant formula industry. Currently, the infant
formula industry has a lot of well established companies, and a strong
entry will be key to grab market share. Innovative and well made
products, good marketing, and a clear strategy will be critical to the
strong entry, so bringing in a strong director will be key.

Candidates

Maddie Connors

Maddie has been working as the Deputy Executive Director of the
European Division for the last year mainly focused on helping the
Protein and Fitness branch become more environmentally and human
friendly. Maddie currently holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from
State College and her MBA from UMUC. Prior to her current position with
Biotech Maddie was a production manager for the New Mexico facility for
eleven years and was regarded highly within the employee ranks as a
fair manager who was inclusive in her decision making. This allowed her
to keep her employees involved in the daily operations of the plant and
helped foster a cohesive workforce. On her resume she discusses her
research in organic ingredients becoming a major reason for the
ascension of Biotech in Europe’s list of environmental and human
friendly companies. Prior to joining Biotech twelve years ago Maddie
spent one year as an intern for a small non-profit company researching
the long-term effects of soy based and animal based products imported
from Asia. During her initial screening, Maddie admitted she currently
does not have any marketing experience to help be the face of the new
product, but has a strong desire to work on those skills and believes
she has the managerial and leadership qualities to guide the team to
success regardless. Maddie stated in her cover letter that though she
only has twelve years of experience she would be a great fit for this
executive position not just due to her familiarity of Biotech; their
core values; understanding of their mission and vision; but also her
desire to see Biotech become a leader in sustainable production with a
focus on being environmentally and human friendly. Her degree in
chemical engineering paired with the desire stated previously, would
also allow her to focus on finding ways for Biotech to become the leader
in quality, clean infant formula products.

Sloan Abbott

Sloan has spent the past 25 years working or Little Ones Formula, a
mid-sized infant formula company currently operating out of New Jersey,
which recently was bought out by a large health food company looking to
expand to formula. The past 2 years Sloan was serving as the Vice
President of Operations and Marketing where, according to her statements
in the interview, she was instrumental in helping Little Ones gain a
12% increase year over year in market share. Before being named as a VP
for Little Ones, Sloan worked for 10 years as a Regional Director for
Asia responsible for importing ingredients from Singapore. During her
run as a Regional Director she was responsible to make visits to the
production plants in China to ensure compliance to company, federal, and
local safety and production regulations. She credited her success in
that role due to her strict management style of ensuring she was able to
be a part of each plants decision making regardless of how small the
issue. She did this thru modern communication channels that allow
personnel to work remotely from anywhere in the world. The previous 13
years with the company were spent rising up the ladder starting with the
company in the production line at the New Jersey plant where the
company got its start. During her interview Sloan stated that Biotech
should consider getting into the infant formula industry with less focus
on sustainability and green initiatives as it can be a difficult
industry for new entrants and just make quality products with animal and
soy based milk. Once established the company could begin to move to
being more environmentally and human friendly as well as introducing
products like non-GMO formulas and others. She stated she is an ‘old
school’ manager who was able to have success in Asia due to her ‘hands
on’ approach. Sloan stated in her cover letter that she is an
experienced executive with a track record of success.

Bennie Hughes

Bennie is the current owner, along with his wife Stephanie, of
Hughes Infant Supplies, focusing on organic infant products, with over
$400M in sales annually. Biotech recently agreed to purchase the
company and Bennie is to receive a position within the organization as
part of the purchase agreement; his wife Stephanie will take over as
Director of Operations for the Biotech’s Personal Health operations.
Max has asked Melanie to vet Bennie carefully to see if maybe this
position would be a good fit for his executive level management and
leadership skills. Max also believes that since ‘Bennie can run his own
company he should be able to run a new division’. The purchase of the
company by Biotech has a stipulation that Bennie must be provided with a
‘high level’ position within the organization. Seventeen years ago,
prior to starting his company, Bennie was an officer in the US Navy
working in logistics, and his wife worked for a local pharmaceutical
company. During Melanie’s conversations with Bennie, he admitted that
he handled the operations and financial side of the company for many of
its initial years and Stephanie led the marketing campaigns that helped
the company grow exponentially for the first few years, and then allowed
them to maintain steady growth after that. However, he believes that
since he has been leading Hughes through its growth that he could easily
manage Biotech into a new venture. Bennie spent 10 years in Japan as a
Logistics Officer with the Navy, which is where he met his wife who was
a Japanese citizen at the time. Bennie believes he has the cultural
awareness to be successful in Asia or the U.S., and since he is
guaranteed a position with the company, he feels this would be the
perfect fit and the remaining interview process for this position should
be merely a formality.

Exercise Instructions:

For this exercise, you will act as the group lead from Expert Foods
Consultants, assigned to Biotech’s. You are preparing your research and
putting together a document with your rationale for the selection of
the location and best candidate. Make sure the document clearly
provides a heading for the Best Location and the Best Candidate.

Due Date: Week 2 – Saturday 11:59 p.m. eastern time.

Best Location

Determine the best location for Biotech’s new manufacturing and distribution plant.

Possible locations: Ohio or China.

1. You will research the two locations to assess the following. In
completing the research, you will draw from various source documents
that provide you specific information about the country. You will also
use a wide array of course material. What this means is that external
sources are related to the information about the country and the
internal material is used to support your reasoning.

• The cost to acquire real estate;
• Sustainable/green products;
• Access to affordable but knowledgeable labor;
• Ease of distribution of manufacturing products to the plant;
• Ease of distribution of products to customers;
• Other relevant information to determine the best location for the
  manufacturing/distribution plant that is found through research or
  provided in the case scenario facts.

2. Compare and contrast the differences between the two locations;

3. Make a determination of the best location supporting your
reasoning using both the research and the course material. Students
must use the course material to support the reasoning. Course material
is the eBook for the course and is not external sources to the
classroom.

Best Candidate

Determine which candidate Expert Foods Consultants should recommend
to Melanie Malone with Biotech. In completing the research, you will
draw from various source documents that provide you specific information
about the country. You will also use a wide array of course material.
What this means is that external sources are related to the information
about the country and the internal material is used to support your
reasoning.

Candidates:

• Maddie Connors
• Sloan Abbott
• Bennie Hughes

1. You will evaluate each of the three candidates considering each
candidate’s full body of experience and how their experience aligns with
Melanie’s expectations for the new position as well as how each will
lead within the context of Biotech’s mission and vision.

2. Make a determination of the best candidate supporting your
reasoning using both the case scenario facts and the course material.
Students must use the course material to support the reasoning.

How to Set Up the Exercise

Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is in a
narrative format, which requires a double-spaced document. Use Arial,
12-point font. You will cite within the document and provide a
reference list on a separate page.

Do not use a question/answer format but using the headings: Best Location and Best Candidate

Provide a title page and a reference list on a separate page.

Submit the Exercise in the Assignment Folder (The assignment
submitted to the Assignment Folder will be considered the student’s
final product and therefore ready for grading by the instructor. It is
incumbent upon the student to verify the assignment is the correct
submission. No exceptions will be considered by the instructor).

Completing the Exercise

In order to complete this Exercise, you will want to first read the
module, Learn How to Support What You Write, as this assignment requires
you to use the course readings and research to support what you write.
Also,

• Read and use the grading rubric while completing the exercise to
  ensure all requirements are met that will lead to the highest possible
  grade.

• Third person writing is required. Third person means 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.

• Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use them.

• Paraphrase and do not use direct quotation marks. Paraphrase means
  you do not use more than four consecutive words from a source document.
  Instead put a passage from a source document into your own words and
  attribute the passage to the source document. Not using direct
  quotation marks means that there should be no passages with quotation
  marks and instead the source material is paraphrased as stated above.
  Note that a reference within a reference list cannot exist without an
  associated in-text citation and vice versa. You may not use more than
  four consecutive words from a source document, as doing so would require
  direct quotation marks. Changing words from a passage does not exclude
  the passage from having quotation marks. If more than four
  consecutive words are used from source documents, this material will not
  be included in the grade and could lead to allegations of academic
  dishonesty.

• You are expected to use the case scenarios and weekly course
  material to develop the analysis and support the reasoning. There
  should be a robust use of the course material along with thorough
  analysis of potential location information. Material used from a source
  document must be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference
  list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice
  versa. Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from
  having quotation marks. If more than four consecutive words are used
  from source documents, this material will not be included in the grade
  and could lead to allegations of academic dishonesty.

• Use in-text citations and provide a reference list that contains the reference associated with each in-text citation.

• You may not use books in completing this exercise unless part of the
  course material. Also, do not use a dictionary or Wikipedia.

• Provide the page or paragraph number in every in-text citation
  presented. If the eBook does not have pages, provide the chapter title
  and topic heading. If using a video, provide the minutes and second of
  the cited material.

make sure to answer all questions below, based on the article attached (make a header for each topic)

this should be 1000 words

Format:

•  Two-page maximum, single space, block format, justified margins, 10-point font
•  APA bibliographic citation of the work as your ‘title’
•  Your name, course, section number and date at the upper rightContent:

•  Central theme – identify author’s main lesson/argument – what is the author(s)teaching us
•  Critical analysis – evaluate the lesson/argument – strengths/weaknesses –considering pointing to a frame of reference in your own life or your training in thesubject
•  Main takeaways – so what and now what? How do we best apply the knowledgefrom this article?

Prior to beginning your initial post, read the handout, How to Ask an Open-Ended Question. In addition, review your initial response to the Clugston (2014) quote from Week One: “There’s a powerful curiosity about human relationships and how to cope in the world in which we find ourselves.” (Section 1.1, para. 2). (I will send you that).

In this discussion, you will reflect on what you learned in the course by practicing the skill of asking an open ended academic question. This exercise will allow you to engage in a discussion you create with your peers. It also helps you to ask your own questions about literature, which can serve as a gateway to initiating critical analysis. Think of an open-ended question about literature that you would like to ask in order to challenge your classmates to reflect more deeply. Also, reflect on your initial response to the Clugston quote.  How have your feelings about literature changed or remained the same?

Your initial post should be at least 200 words in length. The minimum word count does not include references.

Construct an open-ended question (see How to Ask an Open-Ended Question handout) to ask your peers about the literature you read in the class. Avoid asking closed-end questions that require a “yes” or “no” answer. The question should not be overly broad or too general, but focus on specific literary conflicts, techniques, or themes.

Share what you learned by reading your peers’ posts throughout the class.

Discuss your initial response to the Clugston (2014) quote from Week One. Based on what you learned about literature, what has changed? How will these changes impact your perspective on literature?