Q Overview The final project for this course is the creation of a decision-making and principles of management paper. As you continue on your path to earn a degree in business administration, you will deepen your understanding of how effective management is a crucial aspect of overall business success, especially in today’s complex business world. As business and society continue to evolve, there will continue to be demand for managers who are able to organize their resources and strategically implement the functions of management to achieve the goals of an organization. The final paper for the course is divided into two parts: Final Project One and Final Project Two. Both parts of the assessment will focus on decision making and the fundamental principles of management. In Final Project One, you selected a successful company from the list provided in the Final Project One Document. You analyzed the company’s best practices and effective implementation of the fundamental principles of management. In Final Project Two, with the help of your instructor, you will select a struggling company from the list provided below. You will analyze the company’s ineffective implementation of the fundamental principles of management. Once you analyze the struggling company, your task will be to make recommendations for a management improvement plan explaining how the company’s management team can improve in areas such as decision making, employee performance, and sustainability. Final Project Two consists of the selection of the struggling company (a non-graded task due in Module Five) along with one milestone, which will be submitted to scaffold learning and to ensure quality final submissions. This milestone will be submitted in Module Six. Final Project Two will be submitted in Module Eight. In Final Project Two, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: • OL-215-01: Analyze how an organization’s goals influence organizational planning that informs strategic decision making • OL-215-02: Analyze the functions of management and ethical principles for executing effective decision making in organizations • OL-215-03: Apply management techniques that ensure the continuous improvement of personnel and business processes to measure organizational performance • OL-215-04: Apply communication techniques aimed at increasing employee performance, thus achieving organizational goals and objectives • OL-215-05: Illustrate the important connection between management and organizational culture Prompt The general manager has reviewed your analysis of a successful company and was impressed with your work. As a result, you have been asked to provide recommendations for a management improvement plan for a struggling company. For the second part of the final project, you will focus on a struggling company and make your recommendations in a management improvement plan. Be sure to focus on the company at the time of their struggle. Your recommendations will show how management performance, employee perception, and organizational success intersect. You must select a company from this list of suggested companies. Resources related specifically to the struggling companies listed are provided. Toyota (specific to recalls over the last decade) • Toyota.com • What Really Happened to Toyota? • Can Toyota Recover Its Reputation for Quality? WorldCom • Ex-WorldCom CEO Ebbers guilty • WorldCom Accounting Scandal Enron • Enron Case Study • Enron Scandal (4:48) Motorola • What Happened to Motorola • 10 Reasons Why Motorola Failed Eastman Kodak • Kodak Moments Just a Memory as Company Exits Bankruptcy • Kodak CEO Talks Company’s Future • Eastman Kodak Files for Bankruptcy Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Profile of a Struggling Company a. Assess how the management planning practices interfere with or prohibit the organization’s ability to optimally function. You could consider using the fundamental principles of management in your explanation. b. Describe how the employees’ perception and organizational culture have been impacted by management’s performance. You could consider the connections between management and its impact on culture. c. Explain how communication has played a part in management’s inability to increase employee performance. You could consider the connections to specific communication barriers that exist within the organization. II. Management Plan Recommendations: For this section of the summative assessment, you will make recommendations for the management improvement plan. a. Describe how implementing the fundamental principles of management will help to improve the management process within your company. You could consider the factors that interfere with or prohibit effective management. b. Identify how aspects of the fundamental principles of management will be implemented and communicated to all personnel within the company. You could consider thinking about this from a training standpoint. c. Describe how the application of the fundamental principles of management will lead to increased employee performance. You could consider what needs to improve the most to help increase employee performance. d. Explain how applying ethical principles to the fundamental principles of management would be sustained and monitored by the company. You could consider using the rational decision-making model to show how this process can help with ensuring long-term success. III. Conclusion: For this section of the summative assessment, you will provide a summary of your recommended changes to the management improvement plan using examples revolving around the fundamental principles of management. a. Summarize how these management changes, based on the fundamental principles of management, will help to ensure organizational success. Be sure to provide examples of how these changes will have the most direct impact. Milestones Milestone One: Profile of a Struggling Company In Module Six, you will submit a one- to two-page document that will provide a profile of your chosen struggling company. This milestone will serve as a rough draft and must cover the three critical elements in Part I of Final Project Two. You are expected to provide a minimum of two to three paragraphs for each of the three critical elements, which include: management planning, employee’s perception and organizational culture, and communication. This milestone will be graded with the Final Project Two Milestone One Rubric. Final Submission: Management Improvement Plan for a Struggling Company In Module Eight, you will submit Final Project Two. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Two Rubric. Final Project Two Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Final Project Two must be three to four pages in length (plus a cover page and references) with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and APA formatting. Include at least two references cited in APA format. Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value Profile: Management Planning Meets “Proficient” criteria and details are justified by the fundamental principles of management Assesses how the management planning practices interfere with or prohibit the organization’s ability to optimally function Assesses how the management planning practices interfere with or prohibit the organization’s ability to optimally function but details are inaccurate or cursory Does not assess how the management planning practices interfere with or prohibit the organization’s ability to optimally function 12 Profile: Employees’ Perception and Culture Meets “Proficient” criteria and details show a keen insight into the connections between management and culture Describes how the employees’ perception and organizational culture have been impacted by management’s performance Describes how the employees’ perception and organizational culture have been impacted by management’s performance but details are inaccurate or cursory Does not describe how the employees’ perception and organizational culture have been impacted by management’s performance 12 Profile: Communication Meets “Proficient” criteria and details show a keen awareness of the communication barriers that exist within the organization Explains how communication has played a part in management’s inability to increase employee performance Explains how communication has played a part in management’s inability to increase employee performance but details lack relevance or are cursory Does not explain how communication has played a part in management’s inability to increase employee performance 12 Management Plan Recommendations: Management Process Meets “Proficient” criteria and details address the factors that interfere with or prohibit effective management Describes how implementing the fundamental principles of management will help to improve the management process within the company Describes how implementing the fundamental principles of management will help to improve the management process within the company but some details are inaccurate or cursory Does not describe how implementing the fundamental principles of management will help to improve the management process within the company 12 Management Plan Recommendations: Implemented and Communicated Meets “Proficient” criteria and details include insight into how any necessary training will be Identifies how aspects the fundamental principles of management will be implemented and Identifies how aspects of the fundamental principles of management will be implemented and Does not identify how aspects of the fundamental principles of management will be implemented and communicated 12 executed throughout the company communicated to all personnel within the company communicated to all personnel within the company but details are inaccurate or cursory to all personnel within the company Management Plan Recommendations: Increased Employee Performance Meets “Proficient” criteria and includes insight into what needs to be improved the most to help employee performance Describes how the application of the fundamental principles of management will lead to increased employee performance Describes how the application of the fundamental principles of management will lead to increased employee performance but details are inaccurate or cursory Does not describe how the application of the fundamental principles of management will lead to increased employee performance 12 Management Plan Recommendations: Sustained and Monitored Meets “Proficient” criteria and includes the rational decisionmaking model to show how this process can help with ensuring long-term success Explains how applying ethical principles to the fundamental principles of management would be sustained and monitored by the company Explains how applying ethical principles to the fundamental principles of management would be sustained and monitored by the company but details lack relevance or are cursory Does not explain how applying ethical principles to the fundamental principles of management would be sustained and monitored by the company 12 Conclusion: Organizational Culture Meets “Proficient” criteria and details show a keen insight into the connection between the fundamental principles of management and organizational success Summarizes how these management changes, based on the fundamental principles of management, will help ensure organizational success, including examples of how these changes will have the most direct impact Summarizes how these management changes, based on the fundamental principles of management, will help to ensure organizational success but details either lack how these changes will have the most direct impact or are cursory Does not summarize how these management changes, based on the fundamental principles of management, will help to ensure organizational success 12 Articulation of Response Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-toread format Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas 4 Earned Total 100%