Monthly Archives: March 2023

Challenge, support, and/or supplement comments made by one of my classmates. If it would strengthen your response, bring in additional information from the news, your readings/research, and/or personal experience. Cite your sources. 250 words…APA Format. With References 

Instructions:

Write a page for the scenario below: 

Assume the role of a manager in a company that has placed a purchase order for XYZ widgets from the Acme Widget Company. When the order arrived, they were delivered at the agreed time; however, they were ABC widgets. Because your company is on a stringent time constraint you do not have time to wait for another shipment to replace the nonconforming goods.

Under the UCC, is the Acme Widget Company liable for breach of contract? Thoroughly explain.

Under the circumstances, does Acme have a right to cure?

What possible rights and remedies if any does your company have as a result of the current dilemma?

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.

The purpose of this assignment is to construct an ideal profile, based on the trait approach of leadership, for an emergency manager working in the aftermath of a disaster. This assignment also provides you with an opportunity to consider several of the details associated with hiring someone to serve on your emergency management team.

• Address the following in a two page essay:
• How “self-confidence” could help an emergency manager with decision-making skills. 
• How “integrity” could help an emergency manager build trust among colleagues. 
• How “sociability” could help an emergency manager interact with other professionals, including subordinates, supervisors, and interagency roles. 
• Based on the results from your personality test, what traits do you possess that would make you an effective emergency manager.  (traits are extrovert , judging, thinking and sensing )

Instructions

In Unit 5, you learned of the value of networking.  There are many ways to identify your network of contacts. One way is through the use of a mind map.  The attached worksheet provides you with a mind map template you can use to begin the identification process. This is only a first step toward creating a network that can work for you as you are trying to find a job.

Download, complete, upload, and submit the Unit 5 worksheet

• Choose two current worker and workplace trends from the textbook, and speculate on the primary manner in which each trend may affect the future of performance management.
• Provide specific examples that illustrate the potential changes in performance management.

Worker and Workplace Trends from textbook:

Changes in the Workplace

Work teams. Organizations are increasingly turning to the use of teams for task accomplishment and emphasizing team performance. These often autonomous employees work together toward a common goal for which they are jointly held responsible and plan and organize their own work in the absence of supervisory oversight. Shared responsibilities among team members present challenges as the supervisor is charged with evaluating an employee’s contribution to the team effort as well as the overall success of the team’s performance without having been directly involved him-or herself.

Geographically dispersed teams. Increasingly, work teams are composed of members who work in geographically different locations. Team members may work in different buildings on the same campus, different cities, and even different countries. Sometimes, team members live in different time zones and vastly different cultures. Because of the physical or temporal distances between supervisor and employee, direct methods of supervision no longer work. Often corporations construct these teams composed of employees from different locations due to the need for a particular expertise or because of the high cost, both in terms of dollars and employee satisfaction, of moving employees. In many global businesses, members representing all geographic areas are required to ensure the universal applicability of decisions made. These teams can be highly cohesive groups of people who interact extensively or a number of individuals who are assigned tasks that are part of a greater whole and work independently. Supervisors and team members may need to build relationships with people of diverse backgrounds without face-to-face contact or the benefit of informal opportunities for socializing. In some cases, team members will be vitally aware of each other’s performance; in others, team members will have no idea.

Flexible definition of a job. In the past, jobs were clearly defined as a set of related tasks that were performed to achieve a particular goal. Recent trends suggest that jobs are becoming broader in the scope of tasks to be performed and that workers are being asked to shift tasks more frequently. Whether or not the concept of a job has changed or the belief that jobs as they once were performed simply do not exist anymore is arguable. What remains apparent, though, is that more workers are being asked to develop broad skill sets and bring high levels of adaptability to meet changing work requirements.

Outsourcing. Many organizations are focusing on their core capabilities and outsourcing work that is not part of their main mission. Ongoing outsourcing can add another dimension to geographical dispersion within teams. Not only can team members be geographically dispersed, but they can literally work for another company. Concern regarding co-employment laws often results in strict limitations on who supervises whom, preventing supervisors of one company from managing performance of employees in the outsourced firm. Yet, in many cases, these are the very employees who are vital to the success of the team.

Remote work arrangements (such as hotelling and telecommuting). Another growing trend is the use of alternate work arrangements that allow some workers to work away from their “office” location some, if not all, of their work time. In “hotelling” arrangements, workers who travel extensively may not have a fixed office; instead, their company provides temporary offices from which they work when they have a need to be in a company location. “Telecommuting” arrangements allow workers to perform their jobs some place other than a company office, typically from their homes. These alternate work arrangements have multiple purposes, ranging from reducing expenditures for office space to enhancing the worker’s quality of life. All result in profound alterations to how and when employees and supervisors interact with one another.

Flexible work schedules. Another alternate work arrangements is flexible work schedules that may include undefined work schedules, schedules that require attendance only during core hours, and flex-time in terms of specific working days and/or starting and ending times. Similar to remote work arrangements, flexible schedules are often intended primarily to enhance the worker’s quality of life. The benefits to the employer may be less clear but probably include the ability to attract and retain capable workers. Regardless of the benefits, flexible work schedules can decrease the amount of time supervisor and direct report (as well as team members) spend with each other, changing how performance is managed and evaluated.

Job sharing. Job sharing allows two or more people to hold the same job. Typically, one person is available during normal work hours for part of the week and the other for the remaining time. For example, one person may work mornings and the other afternoons. Often, each person’s schedule allows some overlap time to share information and transfer responsibilities. Although a worker may be physically present, the supervisor has new challenges in evaluating each individual’s performance of the job. The amount of observation time for each individual may be cut in half, and there may be some lack of clarity as to which employee is responsible for what work outcome. In addition, the organization may need to redefine commitment to the job and reassess the importance of full-time work for career progression.

Flat organizational structure. A growing trend in many American corporations is the removal of layers of management, which usually results in increased numbers of direct reports for the remaining supervisors. The rationale behind the flattening of the organization varies. One reason is to move upper-level managers closer to their customers by eliminating middle managers. Another is that, by eliminating superfluous layers of management, the latter hierarchy results in significant cost savings and efficiencies. Implementing performance management processes can be challenging when a manager supervises large numbers of people who perform diverse functions. In addition, flatter organizations may provide fewer promotional opportunities. Those who are promoted may find that the reduction in the layers of management results in a substantial increase in the scope of the job and the commensurate skill requirements.

Matrix management. Matrix management, in which individual workers have multiple reporting relationships, has been used by organizations for many years. However, recent focus on cost efficiencies in many businesses may have increased the number of such relationships. One person often has multiple responsibilities and reports to multiple supervisors, each of whom must evaluate the individual on a subset of all the work performed. Therefore, no one supervisor has a complete picture of an individual’s performance. Often, there is no one supervisor totally responsible for helping the individual with all the aspects of performance management and career development. The diffused responsibility can lead to conflicting developmental advice or no direction whatsoever. From the supervisor ‘s perspective, matrix management can often confuse the responsibilities of performance management and lead to inconsistent messages being communicated to the employee.

Multi-media communication modes. Many of the alternative work arrangements discussed above are successful because communications are facilitated by different kinds of technologically enhanced media. Although some of these modes of communication (such as telephone service) have high fidelity, the face-to-face aspect is lost completely. Other modes (such as videoconferencing) are almost as good as being physically present but may involve technical problems that inhibit clear communications. Supervisors who communicate through these tools have to consider carefully the effect of the communication mode on the quality of the performance management discussions and decide whether anything is an acceptable substitute for a face-to-face performance discussion.

Global business. Another significant trend of recent years is the growth of international business in which an organization conducts its business around the globe and has employees from many different countries and cultures working together. Although cultural differences may be more difficult to recognize than language differences, the cultural differences may significantly shape what is considered acceptable performance and what is not. Supervisors and employees must attend to the effect cultural differences have on how work is accomplished and the implications for how individuals interact with one another. In addition, job requirements must be carefully differentiated from local customs that are followed despite actual job needs. For example, developing a relationship with a customer may be a requirement of the job; taking the customer to lunch may be a cultural expectation.

Technology. It is difficult to write anything concerning business in the 21st century without acknowledging the role of technology. Technology has significantly changed how many jobs are performed. Workers entering the workforce since the mid-1980s when the Internet became widely available have grown up with technology and are comfortable using it not only to perform their work but also to communicate with their colleagues, supervisors, and customers.

Change. Similarly, the workforce today has experienced radical changes in the workplace. These changes include what work is performed, how it is performed, and who (or what) performs it. Although employees may not be entirely comfortable with the nature and pace of change, most have adapted to it. In many cases, these workers have come to expect change in their work as a natural course of events.

The likelihood of change in the worker’s career is also very high. It seems rare today for someone to retire from a company with forty years of service. Although workers today may not expect to make a great many personal career changes, the reality is that many will have large numbers of jobs and several careers in their lifetimes. In some cases, these changes will be forced upon them; in others, they may be seeking different kinds of work and rewards or attempting to develop new skills.

reference book

 Performance Management: Putting Research into Action

James W. Smither, Manuel London

Option #1: Analyzing Leadership Decisions Outline

For this Portfolio Project milestone, develop a 2-page outline of your proposed topics and subtopics. Then, identify the decision-making processes used, or any additional factors that might have led to ineffective decision making. Be sure to critique any processes used. Next, describe and justify two to three recommendations for different approaches that could have been taken. Lastly, identify potential theories that may be relevant to your Portfolio Project topic.

Be sure to review the Portfolio Project in Module 8 and the rubric for this milestone for details regarding the project requirements.

PROJECT MODULE 8 REVIEW :Option #1: Analyzing Leadership Decisions

For this option, your final Portfolio Project is a thoughtful analysis of an ineffective or poor leadership decision. You may use a well-known leadership decision, such as the 2011 decision to split Netflix, which resulted in serious financial losses for the organization. Your project must include the following:

• Research a leadership decision that was ineffective or did not have the desired results.
• Describe the problem that may have precipitated the decision, as well as the apparent processes used by the leaders involved in the decision-making effort. Use terms from this course.
• Critique the processes they implemented, applying what you learned from this course.
• Recommend a different approach that could have been taken, using theories and methodologies from this course.
• Present a strong case for how your recommendations could have altered the decision made, leading to more effective results for the organization.
• Use theory from this course to support your evaluation, critique, and recommendations.

Instructions

The compensation plan you designed at Half.com is receiving rave reviews. However, there seems to be discontent with the benefits that are being offered. In this assignment, you will design a comprehensive benefits plan for MediaRite.com’s employees. 

You will first need to research the benefits platforms of Google, Walmart, Tesco, and a company of your choosing. Describe the benefits programs at each.  Then design your own plan for Half.com. Be sure to include the concepts and considerations, but not limited to cost containment.

• Find peer-reviewed articles or use business journals/articles.
• You must include a minimum requirement of 5 full pages of content (this does not include the title, abstract or reference pages) and 7-10 scholarly resources in APA format (refer to the APA manual for specific details) on the information researched from the article and your views as well.

Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) 

Part A (Chapter 4) 

1.  Think about the improvements you would make to your current or previous  organization’s Resource Information Systems (HRIS). Review the Systems  Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Explain the system needs and provide a  few details on what you would do during each phase of the SDLC. 

Part B (Chapter 5) 

2.  Based on your system recommendations from Part A, make a brief proposal  request to a vendor (see vendors on page 110, Table 5.3) using the  information from Table 5.2 as a guide. 

NOTE: MORE THAN ONE ANSWER POSTED CHOOSE ANY

 The purpose of this assignment is to develop a trait profile in which you describe a person that you would consider an ideal healthcare organization manager based on information found in your required reading and in the unit lesson. You will first describe the term leadership in your own words and the role it plays within healthcare management. Then, you will build your trait profile based on the trait theory of leadership.

This assignment also provides you with an opportunity to consider several of the details associated with hiring someone to serve as the leader of your healthcare management team. Click here to access the template for this assignment. Follow the instructions within the template, complete the profile, save your work to the template.

Ledlow, G. R., & Stephens, J. H. (2018). Leadership for health professionals: Theory, skills, and applications [VitalSource Bookshelf version] (3rd ed.). Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284142051 

Discussion Board 4

Primary Task Response: 

Within the Discussion Board area, write One page that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

Review the video link on the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion. For this Discussion Board, answer the following:

What lessons can be learned regarding project management leadership?

What lessons can be learned regarding project risk management?

There is a lot of research regarding this tragedy, so be sure that you use additional (minimum of 2) external cited research from both the Challenger investigation and project/risk management to support your considerations

Reference

Ed Villa Bal. (n.d.). Challenger – A case study in risk management [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG8BPB_oPlg