HA3110D – Quality Improvement and Risk Management

LP03.1 ASSIGNMENT: Interview Report

In LP02, you found a person to interview about their experience with quality improvement and scheduled an interview with them. This week, submit your interview report.

Directions

Ask your interview subject the following questions:

Define the change process or outcome you improved.

What data did you collect,, and how was it reported?

How did you know the change was an improvement?

What quality tools did you use?

Did you pilot test or segment the change processes?

What changes, if any, did you make once evaluation was complete?

How do you assure the improvement will be sustained?

In a Word document, create an interview report to submit to the drop box.

What to include in your report:

a.The name and title of the person you interviewed. Why did you choose them?

b.When and where the interview took place.

c.The required questions and the interviewee’s response.

d.Summarize the personal reflections and conclusions that you gained from this activity.

e.How might you use this knowledge in your own professional role?

HR Presentation on Talent Management in a Changing Organization: Part 3

Note: This Assignment consists of three parts. You submitted Parts 1 and 2 in Weeks 3 and 4. You will complete and submit only Part 3 this week.

You are an HR analyst for XYZ Corporation, and you have been tasked with the assignment of helping a company through a period of organizational change. Your client, Thoreau Enterprises, recently acquired several other companies in its industry. The organization has gone from being a $1 billion entity to a $15 billion entity as a result of these acquisitions. Though Thoreau Enterprises purchased the others, it was actually the smallest entity of the entire grouping. After meeting with Thoreau Enterprises’ company leadership, your Director, Jacob Wickham, has compiled notes on three main areas that need to be addressed: talent management needs, compensation, and the role of HR to lead change for the new organization. Following is a list of specific concerns that Jacob noted during the initial meeting:

• There are a number of “legacy” employees whose roles in the new organization have changed drastically as a result of the acquisitions. Many employees are unclear whether their jobs are going to be considered redundant or if they are “safe” in the new organizational structure. Rumors are spreading that everyone’s jobs are up for grabs, employees will have to re-interview to keep their jobs, and the severance packages for anyone laid off may not be as great as people are hoping for. Morale is low in this period of uncertainty.
• HR leaders are aware of the need to hire to fill certain functions, and it has come to light that job descriptions do not exist for all levels in the organization.
• In the past, employees were typically hired because they were referred by existing staff. Therefore, contemporary recruiting and hiring methods have not been utilized at Thoreau Enterprises.
• Compensation strategies need to be aligned across the new organization.
• With the merger of so many companies, no cohesive corporate culture has been established, and there are major employee morale issues, as stated above. In fact, the leaders of the new Thoreau Enterprises are unsure of what their company culture should be and need guidance for how HR can help them to establish this and lead them through this period of uncertainty and change.

Your director, Jacob Wickham, has asked you to put together a presentation on talent management, compensation, and the role of HR in helping to manage organizational change. After speaking with the client, Jacob has compiled a list of items that he wants you to cover in this presentation, which should include a title slide, References slide, and speaker notes for each slide that Jacob can use to present your points to the leaders of Thoreau Enterprises.

To prepare for this Assignment:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and the scenario for this Assignment.
• Refer to the Academic Writing Expectations for 2000/3000-Level Courses as you compose your Assignment.

By Day 7

Submit Part 3 of your presentation, according to the following prompts.

Part 3: Addressing Organizational Changes (6–9 slides)

• Illustrate the role of HR in managing the talent pipeline during organizational change and restructuring. Provide at least three specific examples of HR functions that would apply to this type of situation. (1–2 slides) 
• Describe how HR can address the impacts of organizational change and restructuring on employee morale. In your response, identify at least two tools, methods, and/or strategies that HR can employ, including a brief rationale for each selection. (2–3 slides) 
• Identify at least three examples of legal challenges a company could potentially face during restructuring and explain how HR can help the organization avoid committing violations for each example. (3–4 slides) 

Question #1

The GLOBE study built on another study conducted by Geert Hofstede, one of the most comprehensive studies of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture. In Hofstede’s study, he describes and measures 6 cultural dimensions – some of which were also used in the GLOBE study : Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, Long Term Orientation and Indulgence. 

1) Go to this page: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/

and select United States.

2) Then select under Comparison Country any country of your choice. 

3) What can you tell us about the difference between the U.S. and the other country?

Bling-Bling, Inc. is a struggling jewelry outlet that provides modestly priced gold, silver and gemstone jewelry via kiosks placed in large malls. Since their products are made with lower quality and less expensive stones and lower levels of key ingredients (like gold) and since they do not rent or own building floor space, they can sell for prices that meet the needs of many mall shoppers. However, they have the on-going issue of training and retraining sales associates. BBI wants to beef-up their orientation program.You have been hired to build a low-tech training solution for these associates.

IN 300 WORDS ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: 

 Based on the information below, what are the key cognitive issues, and memory/attention factors that you will consider in your designs? Based on that analysis of the essential learning needs, what learning theories, modalities, methods and technologies would be most likely to meet the need? Explain your reasoning and support your opinions.

Bling-Bling, Inc Sales Associates Level 1 (kiosk-based):

• Age: 18-30 (average age 19)
• For 49% of sales associates this is their first job ever, while 39% indicate that they have held another full-time job, and another 9% indicate that this is their second job (i.e., they are already working 40+ hrs a week for another business), 3% did not respond.
• Tend a mall kiosk during mall hours with 15 minute breaks every 2 hours.
• Have a 40% turn-over in 90 days and a 75% annually
• When surveyed about the work indicated that:
  • They are often bored by sitting in a kiosk with nothing to do
  • Do not have a phone (or at least not one provided by the company)
  • Their only computer is one provided by the company for posting sales and does not have internet or wireless access
• When mall security were asked about Bling-Bling’s Sales Associates work practices, they indicated that:
  • “They’re just kids. Like all kids they spend more time on the phone or playing games on their iPods than working.”
  • “When a new one starts the first day, I show‘em how they will handle a money-changer con artist. None of them have ever heard of that. When I ask how they will handle someone ripping off some of the jewels, they don’t seem to know what your company wants them to do.”

MARKETING – MARKETING MANAGER ANALYSIS

Due Date

Week 7

Note: While representative of possible situations faced by the Brooklyn Nets, all scenarios in this assignment are fictional.

Real Business

For a large discount retail store like Target and Walmart, it can be difficult to get the marketing mix just right for a given product. There are so many products in the store fighting for the attention of customers. There is also the challenge of helping the suppliers of each product maximize their profits while making sure the store is making money. With so many things to consider, working in marketing for such a large business can be a challenge.

Your Role

This week, you’ll be acting as a Marketing Manager in the sporting goods section.

WHAT IS A MARKETING MANAGER?

Marketing Managers are responsible for developing, implementing and executing marketing plans, either for an entire organization or for particular categories or products within the organization, in order to attract potential customers and keep existing ones.

Their day-to-day tasks include managing and coordinating marketing and creative staff, leading market research to improve existing products and services, working with advertising agencies, and determining the best way to get products in front of customers.

As a marketing manager for a discount retail store in Brooklyn, you have been asked to evaluate a marketing plan for basketballs to ensure that the 4 P’s of marketing are being applied well. Using your knowledge of the 4 P’s and the best approach to generating sales, you’ll take a look at a number of marketing recommendations and choose the approach that you believe will sell the most products.

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Product

In the Marketing Analysis Presentation provided by your marketing team, you’ll see three different basketballs that need to be included in the product display on Slide 2. Each product has unique features.

Based on the information provided about the customers that shop at the store location on Slide 3, choose the basketball that you think will sell the most. Explain the rationale for your decision.

Step 2: Place

On Slide 4 of the Marketing Analysis Presentation, you’ll see the results of a survey that asked potential buyers about where they are most likely to purchase these products.

Use your knowledge about product placement to choose the best place to sell the products, deciding between traditional stores and online. Explain the rationale for your decision.

Step 3: Promotion

Slide 5 of the Marketing Analysis Presentation shows three recommended advertisements, including a special deal promotion, for the product that is expected to sell the best.

Based on the information provided about the customers that shop at this store location on Slide 3, determine which promotional activity will sell the most product at this particular store. Explain the rationale for your decision.

Step 4: Price

Finally, Look at the pricing options available for each of the three products together on Slide 6.

Based on your knowledge of the Pricing Strategies discussed on pages 186-187 in the textbook, choose the option that has the best pricing mix for all three products. Refer to the customer information on Slide 2, if needed. Explain the rationale for your decision.

Note: You should complete Step 5 after reading the material in Week 7.

Step 5: Brand & Sales Pitch

The company that makes one of the basketballs is looking to rebrand the product. They have asked for your input on possible brand ideas.

First, read the Brand Vision statement which summarizes the goal for the new brand. Then, look at the logo, name, and tagline recommendations. Which of the two brand directions do you think best meets the goals of the brand vision? Please support your decisions.

Second, write a 2-3 sentence sales pitch that you would use to try to convince someone to purchase this product.

Step 6: Market Segmentation

The marketing plan for the basketballs at the Brooklyn store has been in place now for four months, and the marketing team has assembled a report reviewing sales data and customer feedback for the last quarter’s basketball sales. Overall, the results are lower than you expected and you are concerned that your marketing and creative staff have not properly segmented your target customers. Remember, like many products in the marketplace, the basketball’s marketing campaigns must target two different groups of customers: (1) adults who purchase the item as a gift and, therefore, do not actually use the product; and (2) adults and teenagers who purchase the item for their own use and enjoyment. Both groups have different reasons and expectations surrounding the item in question, and those reasons and expectations will have significant impacts on the buyers’ purchasing decisions.

Review the five customer segments detailed on pages 194-195 of your textbook: Behavioral, Sociographic, Psychographic, Geographic and Demographic. Select one focus area of each segment that you feel is most relevant to the sale of basketballs at this store location.

Keeping in mind the 4 P’s, write 1-2 questions for each focus area that will guide your staff as they investigate these aspects of your campaign.

Example:

Segment: Geographic

Focus Area: Neighborhood

Questions: What combination of marketing and media channels did we use to reach current and potential customers? How are we gathering information on where current customers live who purchased a basketball?

Seeking help with health policy and politics term paper 

Since this is the final course in your journey through the PPA program, it is worth reflecting on what you are learning and how it connects with work you have done up to this point. In a short paragraph, identify one or more projects or topics that have shaped your approach to public policy. Answer these questions in your reflection:

• What was this topic or project?
• How has it shaped your thinking on public policy?
• How does it inform your choice of a topic for the project in this course?

200 Words in Microsoft Word Format.  No References needed.

Option #1: KPI, RI, PI, and KRI

KPI Selection

Badawy, Abd El-Aziz, Idress, Hefny, and Hossam (2016) stated that many organizations are using the wrong metrics that they call key performance indicators. Instead, they offered four types of performance measures:

1. Key result indicators (KRIs): it tells you how you have achieved in a perspective or critical success factor.
2. Result indicators (RIs): tell you what you have done.
3. Performance indicators (PIs): tell you what you must do.
4. KPIs: tell you what to do to highly increase performance. (p. 47)

For this assignment:

• Interview someone you know who is currently working on a project.
• Discuss the project success factors, what has been accomplished to date, what is left to be done, and what your interviewee thinks might increase performance on the project.
• Find out what types of metrics are being used and if, in the opinion of the interviewee, they are useful.

In your written paper, consolidate what you learned in your interview and provide a synopsis of the information in less than one page. The interviewee may remain anonymous if requested. While the interviewee may remain anonymous, the organization should be an actual one with which you are familiar and noted in the paper. In the remainder of the paper, suggest whether the metrics being used are KRIs, RIs, PIs, or KPIs, and why, and if you were to recommend a change to more effectively report on the project what KRIs, RIs, PIs, or KPIs would you suggest.

Paper Requirements:

• Be sure to properly organize your writing and include an introductory paragraph, headings/subheadings for the body of your work, discussion recommendations, and a conclusion.
• Format your entire paper in accordance with the CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA (Links to an external site.).
• Your paper should be at least five pages. The page count does not include the required title page and reference page, nor does the page count include any supplemental pages, should you use them, such as appendices.
• Prepare your work using at least one of this week’s required readings and one outside reference (a peer-reviewed scholarly article published in the past five years). The CSU-Global Library (Links to an external site.) is a good place to find these resources. The Library offers this Project Management Resource Guide (Links to an external site.) to assist you with research and writing.

Reference

Badawy, M., Abd El-Aziz, A. A., Idress, A. M., Hefny, H., & Hossam, S. (2016). A survey on exploring key performance indicators. Future Computing and Informatics Journal, 1, 47-52.

PLEASE FOLLOW DIRECTIONS AND ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS!!

For this section of the course project you are being asked to defend your assessments tool’s validity and reliability. In a 1-2 page paper include the following:

• Discuss what methods you will use to establish reliability?
• How will you determine that your results are valid?
• Will you have your results peer reviewed or consult experts?
• Maintain proper grammar and spelling mechanics. 
• PAPER HAS BEEN UPLOADED TO HELP TO ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS!!

Select one of the following case studies (located in your textbook):

• Case 10-1: Willful Violation, or a Problem That Can Be Corrected? 
• Case 10-2: Constructive Discharge and Reinstatement of Strikers.

Then complete the following: 

• Add your opinion about the choices and decisions being made—if this was your company, would you make this choice? 
• What would you do differently?   

You are strongly encouraged to make your initial post by the middle of each week so that you have plenty of time to respond to your classmates.