Module 1 – Case
PLANNING
Case Assignment
Tesla Motors, a unique company that manufactures automobiles that run
100 percent on electricity, has received a lot of attention in the media. In
spite of loans from the federal government and various tax advantages given to
alternative fuel vehicle manufacturers, the company has had huge ups and downs
and has come close to bankruptcy at least once. However, they have recently had
enough success to repay a large loan from the government.
Initially, Tesla produced expensive sports cars that only the very rich
could afford, but now they are expanding into producing more cost-effective
vehicles. But in spite of recent successes they do face many hurdles. They are
a relatively small company compared to the world’s major auto manufacturers.
They face competition from hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius, which are
much cheaper. Nissan has even come out with a relatively inexpensive fully
electric vehicle – the Leaf.
Consumers may also be unwilling to face the inconvenience of a fully
electric vehicle. There are very few recharging stations compared to gas
stations in the U.S., and it takes far longer to recharge an electric vehicle
than to fill a vehicle up with gas. So while there is large public support for
environmentally friendly vehicles that will lower our dependence on foreign
oil, Tesla does face many obstacles and must carefully plan their future in
order to compete with the large auto companies and expand their consumer base.
Do some research on Tesla and the market for electric vehicles, and see
what you can find regarding Tesla’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats. Here are a couple of articles to get you started:
Tilley, P. (2014, Feb 20). Tesla Motors offers the epitome of automobile
innovation. The Dispatch[ProQuest]
Rechtin, M. (2014). Tesla’s biggest test. Automotive News, 88(6603).
[ProQuest}
Mandel, D. (2013). The great Tesla bubble. Automotive News, 88(6590)
[Available on ProQuest]
Once you have completed your research write a 4- to 5-page paper
addressing the following items:
1. Conduct a SWOT
analysis of Tesla Motors with specific discussion about what you think are the
main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing Tesla. This part
of the assignment should be roughly three pages in length and should include at
least one paragraph discussing each of the four aspects of SWOT as applied to
Tesla Motors.
2. Based on your SWOT
analysis, give recommendations for some specific steps Tesla should take in
order to grow and remain competitive. For example, what can Tesla do to
address potential threats or address its weaknesses? Or what can they do
to take advantage of strengths or opportunities? This part of the
assignment should be at least one page in length.
Assignment Expectations
·
Answer the assignment questions directly.
·
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions, don’t go off on
tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
·
Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references.
Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are
preferred. If you find articles on the Internet, make sure it is from a
credible source.
·
Reference your sources of information with both a bibliography and
in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a
High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13-14 on in-text
citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide”, which is found under
“My Resources” in the TLC portal.
Module 1 – SLP
PLANNING
For the Session Long Project (SLP) this session you will be applying
what you’ve learned to an organization that you are personally familiar with.
Choose an organization that you are currently working for, have worked for in
the past, or are otherwise personally familiar with. The papers that you will
write for each module will require a fair amount of detail about the four
functions of management, so it is important to choose an organization that you
know well.
Before starting this assignment, first thoroughly review the background
material and make sure you have a solid understanding of the planning function
of management. Then carefully think about the strategy of the organization you
have chosen to write about as well as how strategic decisions are made at this
organization. Then write a two- to three-page paper covering the following
issues:
1. Describe the
mission, vision, and values of the organization you work for. For example, if
your organization has a formal vision or mission statement, include it in your
answer. Refer to pages 81-87 of Axson (201) for precise definitions of
mission, vision, and values. This part of the assignment should be one to
two pages in length, and should include one paragraph each on mission, vision,
and values of your organization.
2. What are the main
strategic, operational, and tactical goals of your organization? Refer to Allen
and Economy (2008) for the definitions of these three types of goals. This part
of your paper should be one to two pages in length, and should include one
paragraph on each of these three types of goals as applied to your
organization.
SLP Assignment Expectations
·
Answer the assignment questions directly.
·
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on
tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
·
Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a
High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and 14 on
in-text citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide,” which is
found under “My Resources” in the TLC Portal.
Module 2 – Case
ORGANIZING
Case Assignment
Zappos Shoes, led by young CEO Tony Hsieh, is well known for its
non-traditional approaches to the workplace. From the background materials you
should be familiar with traditional organizational structures such as the
hierarchical organization, the flat organization, or the matrix organization.
But CEO Hsieh plans an even more radical approach to organizing his online shoe
retailing company called holacracy. This radical new approach involves
eliminating hierarchies and even eliminating job titles.
Many of you are used to working in a hierarchical organization, so as
you can see this new form of organization (or perhaps “lack of organization”)
will be a huge change over what most of us are used to. But for purposes of
this assignment we must decide whether or not holacracy is likely to work for
Zappos Shoes. This assignment reflects the radical new ideas of a younger CEO
like Tony Hsieh as compared to more traditional structures found in the older
and more established Fortune 500 companies.
Here are some readings on Zappos and holacracy to get you started:
Frean, A. (2014, Jan 06). How holacracy killed the hierarchy in
companies going flat-out for success, The Times[ProQuest]
Cook, D. (2014). Ready for holacracy? Zappos says it is. Benefits
Selling.Breaking News[ProQuest]
Shiers, L. (2010, 03). Touring Zappos. Footwear Plus,52
[ProQuest}
When you have finished researching Zappos’ current business model and
holacracy, then write a four- to five-page paper answering the following
questions:
1. What risks and
challenges does Zappos face in implementing holacracy?
2. Overall what do you
think the chances are of holacracy succeeding at Zappos?
3. What advantages or
disadvantages do you think holacracy has over more traditional structures such
as a hierarchical or matrix structure? Of the structures you have read about in
the background materials, which one do you think would be the best match for
Zappos? Explain your reasoning and make sure to cite Havinal (2009) and at
least one other book chapter from the background materials as part of your
answer.
Assignment Expectations
·
Integrate readings on the concept of holacracy, Zappos Shoes’
organizational structure, and on traditional forms of organization structure.
·
Answer the assignment questions directly.
·
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on
tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
·
Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a
High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and 14 on
in-text citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide,” which is
found under “My Resources” in the TLC Portal
Module 2 – SLP
ORGANIZING
For this assignment, continue to write about the same organization that
you wrote about for your Module 1 SLP. Carefully review the background
materials and make sure you understand the concepts of centralization versus
decentralization, geographic versus functional divisions, span of control, and
other key concepts covered in the Pearson tutorials and required textbook
reading. Then carefully think about how these concepts apply to your chosen
organization.
Once you have finished reviewing the background materials and have
carefully thought about how they apply to your organization, write a 2- to
3-page paper answering the following questions:
1. How would you
characterize the design of your organization? Is it flat, or does it have many
layers? Is it a rigid hierarchy, or does it use alternative structures like
team-based or matrix?
2. Is decision making
mostly centralized at the top, or is there room for decentralized decision
making at lower levels?
3. What kind of
departmentalization does your organization use? Is it divided into functional
divisions, geographical divisions, or other divisions?
4. What is the typical
span of control for managers in your organization? Is it broad or narrow?
5. Are employees
highly specialized, or do employees have a wide range of tasks and
responsibilities?
SLP Assignment Expectations
·
Answer the assignment questions directly.
·
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on
tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
·
Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references.
Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are
preferred. If you find articles on the Internet, make sure they are from a
credible source.
·
Reference your sources of information with both a bibliography and
in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a
High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and 14 on
in-text citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide,” which is
found under “My Resources” in the TLC Portal.
Module 3 – Case
LEADING
Case Assignment
Few CEOs have been subject to as much criticism and attacks as Facebook
founder Mark Zuckerberg. Most famously, he was portrayed as the villain in the
movie The Social Network. Shareholders have complained about his
leadership and failure to increase the stock price of Facebook, and others have
claimed he is socially inept and too young and immature to be a CEO of a
multi-billion-dollar corporation.
However, in spite of this criticism, Zuckerberg is unarguably one of the
most successful CEOs and entrepreneurs in corporate history. His small project
that he created while he was a college student has become world dominant in the
social media business and is still growing and expanding. So in spite of all of
the criticism, he clearly has been a successful leader.
For this assignment, do some research in the online library and find out
what you can about Zuckerberg’s leadership style. Take a look at both the
criticisms as well as what you think he is doing right or what led him to his
strong success.
Here are a few articles to get you started:
Facebook’s leadership: Time for an update? (Jun. 13, 2010). The
Washington Post. [Available on ProQuest]
Bailey, B., & May, P. (2014, Feb 03). Facebook at 10: Zuckerberg
pushing for change. Oakland Tribune. [ProQuest]
Lesley, C. T. (2012, Jan 27). Job at Facebook not for sensitive types. Toronto
Star. [ProQuest]
Once you have finished your research, write a 4- to 5-page paper
addressing the following questions:
1. How would you
describe Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership traits? Explain your reason and
refer to specific leadership traits from Theories and Leadership Approach (2014)
and page 211-212 of Hiriyappa (2009).
2. How would you
describe Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership style? Was it transformational,
transactional, autocratic, participative? All of the above, or none? Refer to
concepts from pages 204-210 of Hiriyappa (2009) and either Kendrick (2011) or
Kirimi, and Barine (2012) as part of your answer.
3. Consider both the
positive and negative aspects of Zuckerberg’s leadership style and traits. What
is good, and what is detrimental to Facebook? Did the good outweigh the
bad?
Assignment Expectations
·
Answer the assignment questions directly.
·
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on
tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
·
Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references.
Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are
preferred. If you find articles on the Internet, make sure they are from a
credible source.
Module 3 – SLP
LEADING
In this section of the Session Long Project, please write a 2- to 3-page
paper about one of your current or former leaders. Preferably this should be a
leader in the organization you wrote about in your Module 1 and 2 SLPs or
someone who is your current or former supervisor who you had a lot of direct
experience with. Please do not write about yourself, even if you are a CEO or
senior leader.
Review the background materials and think carefully about how the
various leadership traits and styles apply to the leader you are writing about.
Does anything ring a bell like “that exactly describes my leader!”? After
carefully thinking about how the concepts from this module apply to your
leader, write a 2- to 3-page paper answering the following questions:
1. How would you
describe this person’s leadership traits? Explain your reason and refer to
specific leadership traits from Theories and leadership approach (2014) and pages 211-212 of
Hiriyappa (2009). Your answer to this question should be one to two paragraphs
in length.
2. How would you
describe this person’s leadership style? Was it transformational,
transactional, autocratic, participative? All of the above, or none? Refer to
concepts from pages 204-2010 of Hiriyappa (2009) and either Kendrick (2011) or
Kirimi, and Barine (2012) as part of your answer. Your answer to this question
should be one to two paragraphs in length.
3. How does this
leader motivate their employees and communicate their vision? Your answer to
this question should be one paragraph in length.
4. Based on any of the
background readings, what suggestions do you have for how this leader could
improve their effectiveness? Your answer to this question should be one
paragraph in length.
SLP Assignment Expectations
·
Answer the assignment questions directly.
·
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on
tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
·
Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references.
Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are
preferred. If you find articles on the Internet, make sure they are from a
credible source.
Module 4 – Case
CONTROLLING
Case Assignment
Before starting on this assignment, carefully go through all of the
required background readings, including the Pearson tutorial and the textbook
chapters. Focus on the four main steps involved in the control process:
setting goals and standards, measuring performance, comparing actual
performance to performance goals, and taking corrective actions. Also,
pay close attention to the different methods of control outlined in the
background materials.
For this assignment you will be reviewing four hypothetical scenarios.
Go through each scenario, and think about what went wrong regarding the control
process. For each scenario, discuss the following two issues:
A. What do you think
went wrong in terms of the four main steps in the control process? Refer to the four
steps in the control process discussed on pages 237-238 in Bhattacharyya (2009)
or pages 234-236 of Jeyarathmm (2008).
B. What control system
do you think should be implemented to correct this problem in the control
process?Refer to the control systems discussed on pages 237-245 of Jeyarathmm
(2008).
Your paper should be four to five pages in length, with roughly equal
space in your paper devoted to each of the four scenarios below:
1. Suppose as part of
a company’s standards they require their salesforce team to make 12 phone calls
per hour with no more than five minutes of phone time per customer. The
company fails to meet their profit targets, and a review of salesforce records
reveals that they were only making an average of 10 phone calls per hour.
Corrective actions are taken, and the salesforce starts making 12 phone calls
per hour. But profits still don’t improve and fail to meet targets.
Discuss both questions A and B above regarding this scenario. Your answer
should be one to one and a half pages in length.
2. Now suppose an
airline sets strategic goals of both reducing flight delays and improving
safety requirements. At the end of the year, a comprehensive review is
done that shows that the company met its standards both in terms of reduced
flight delays and improvements in safety standards. However, shortly after the
review the airline company receives several fines from the Federal Aviation
Administration for safety violations. Discuss both questions A and B above
regarding this scenario. Your answer should be one to one and a half
pages in length.
3. An automobile
manufacturer decides on a goal of reducing production defects from 10% to
5%. Defects are monitored closely, careful records are kept, and
production line is often videotaped. At the end of year production
defects are still around 10%. Management decides that even more
monitoring is necessary and decides that all production processes be
videotaped. But after another year production defects are still around
10%. Discuss both questions A and B above regarding this scenario. Your
answer should be one to one and a half pages in length.
4. A video game
company decides to boost profits by creating five new games over the coming
year. Careful monitoring is done over the new game development process and all
five new games are created as scheduled with high-quality standards. However,
only one of the five games ends up selling and the other four end up losing
money. So overall profits have not been boosted and have actually
declined. Discuss both questions A and B above regarding this scenario.
Your answer should be one to one and a half pages in length.
Assignment Expectations
·
Answer the assignment questions directly.
·
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on
tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
·
Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references.
Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are
preferred. If you find articles on the Internet, make sure they are from a
credible source.
·
Reference your sources of information with both a bibliography and
in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a
High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and 14 on
in-text citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide,” which is
found under “My Resources” in the TLC Portal.
Module 4 – SLP
CONTROLLING
For this final SLP you will be looking closely at the control function
of management within your organization. All organizations have numerous methods
of control, but think carefully about what control mechanisms are most vital
for your organization’s success. Then write a three-page paper answering the
following questions:
1. Review the four
steps in the control process discussed on pages 237-238 in Bhattacharyya (2009)
or pages 234-236 of Jeyarathmm (2008). How are these steps done in your
organization, and which of these steps do you think is most vital or your
organization? This answer should be at least half of your three-page paper, and
should include at least one paragraph on each of the four steps in the control
process as applied to your organization.
2. Refer to some of
the control methods in the Pearson tutorial and pages 237-245 of Jeyarathmm
(2008). Which of these methods does your organization use (if any), and
which ones would you recommend your organization adopt to improve their
performance? This answer should be around one page in length.
SLP Assignment Expectations
·
Answer the assignment questions directly.
·
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on
tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
·
Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references.
Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are
preferred. If you find articles on the Internet, make sure they are from a
credible source.
·
Reference your sources of information with both a bibliography and
in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a
High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13 and 14 on
in-text citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide,” which is
found under “My Resources” in the TLC Portal.
