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I CHOOSE WELLSFARGO MGMT 4860 Org. Change – Team Project, Consulting Report Page | 1 Final Team Project Assignment (Consulting Report) Summary You will work in teams of 3 students to complete the Final Team Project. You will select an organization and interview a professional currently employed there. You may select a corporation, a non-profit organization, a school district, a university, a governmental agency, a small business, etc. The professional you interview must be at a mid-managerial level as a minimum; you may interview mid-level managers, executives, human resources representatives, business owners, principals, etc. Your contact must somehow be leading a change effort or implementing a change that has been set by others, including an organizational structural change (e.g., removing management layers, changing from a functional to a divisional structure). You must incorporate content from the textbook, other material learned in class, and John Kotter’s book on leading change to solve the challenges your organization is facing. Course Materials In addition to your textbook, please read and review the following books/ebooks: 1. John Kotter’s Chapter on Leading Change from HBRs 10 Must Reads on Change Management, ISBN 978-1422158005 https://iii.library.unt.edu/record=b6531603~S12 2. Chapters 2-11 from Leading Change, by John Kotter, ISBN 9781422186442 https://iii.library.unt.edu/record=b6531306~S12 Expectations 1. Research a desired or current employer and identify a change management problem. 2. Make connections with professionals and learn managerial practices as they apply to that particular organization and industry. 3. Relate your findings to concepts we have learned in the course and reflect on your own learning and applicability of the material to the real world. 4. Work effectively with others in a team environment. This assignment will span several weeks. It allows you to use your creativity and tailor it to your own strengths and enhance your learning in specific areas. Work ahead by a week (review due dates in the Course Schedule). If you are unsure which organization to select or you have a limited contact base, let me know as soon as possible so that I can connect you with some of my contacts. Ideally, you will conduct the interview virtually or by observing proper safety guidelines related to COVID-19. Asking your contact to send the responses via e-mail should be a last resort. Managers and leaders do not solve organizational issues in one day so spending time thinking about the problems presented, how they apply to your situation, and how to solve them is an important and iterative process. Every team is required to meet with me once during the semester. Email me to schedule an appointment. Plan to meet with me for at least 15 minutes and prepare to ask me questions related to the team project. All team members must attend this meeting with me. https://iii.library.unt.edu/record=b6531603~S12 https://iii.library.unt.edu/record=b6531306~S12 MGMT 4860 Org. Change – Team Project, Consulting Report Page | 2 Outlined Steps 1. Review the instructions and grading criteria for this assignment. 2. Obtain approval from your professor for your chosen organization. a. Assignment: Submit Organization/Topic (5 points) b. Assignment: Team Meeting with Professor (15 points) 3. Write the organizational analysis portion of the report. Conduct additional research. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the change effort and problem(s) to be solved. a. Assignment, Part 1: Organizational Analysis (50 points) 4. Interview your contact via phone/virtually and ask the specific questions included in Part 2: Interview Summary. All team members must participate in interview. a. Suggested Date: Conduct Interview 5. Summarize the interview responses and insight from your contact in complete sentences in 2-3 paragraphs (no bullet points or Q&A format). a. Assignment, Part 2: Interview Summary (50 points) 6. Write recommendations to provide to the organization on how to implement the change effectively or what could have been implemented based on John Kotter’s 8-step process. Clearly identify the stages of Kotter’s process at which the organization is/was. Review the content in chapters and modules 10, 11, and 12 and John Kotter’s Chapters 2-11 to better support your recommendations and explain what should be implemented based on what your client organization is experiencing (e.g., downsizing, transitioning from mechanistic to organic design). Format the final consulting report appropriately so that it is presentable and professional. Attach any additional handouts or include in the Appendix. Clearly cite your references and include them in-text. References are a separate page. APA style is preferred but not required. a. Assignment, Part 3: Consulting Report Recommendations (50 points) 7. Write a report of the five takeaways and summarize them concisely. Reflect on what you have learned. This is an individual submission. a. Assignment, Part 4: Individual Reflection (30 points) Any instances of plagiarism will result in grade of “0” for the assignment. Any issues with formatting and excessive spelling will result in deductions of up to 10 points. Important due dates (you will submit all assignments via Canvas): Submit Organization/Topic October 10 Meet with Professor (all team members) October 24 Conduct Interview (reminder; not an actual submission) October 31 Organizational Analysis (Part 1) November 14 Interview Summary (Part 2) November 21 Consulting Report Recommendations (Part 3) December 5 Team Project Participation (updated by professor) December 8 Individual Reflection (Part 4) December 8 Deliverables and Grading Criteria There are 4 separate submissions (the Appendix is part of the Consulting Report) for this project. Please review the requirements and grading criteria for each deliverable carefully. https://iii.library.unt.edu/record=b6531306~S12 MGMT 4860 Org. Change – Team Project, Consulting Report Page | 3 Part 1 - Organizational Analysis You will submit a report (1 page, Microsoft Word, 12-pt font, one-inch margins, single space) written objectively and in third person (e.g., eliminate “our company”) that includes an Organizational Analysis section. This portion will later become part of your Consulting Report Recommendations. You are submitting it first so that it can be reviewed and revised before presenting it to your client organization (I will assume the role of your client). It still needs to be complete as it will be graded as a professional and complete report. Grading Criteria for Part 1 (up to 50 points total). Include the following: 1. Description of the organization and its products/services. Include a brief history, location of headquarters. Identify industry (if large organization, describe local office in more detail). 2. Discuss relevant metrics and data (e.g., financials and sales volume are important if that is part of the change effort; if not, focus on number of employees, structure of the organization, culture of the organization, etc.) 3. Strategic information about the organization (mission, vision, values, strategic objectives) 4. Information about current weaknesses and/or threats the organization may be experiencing 5. Information about the current change efforts. Is there a clear connection between why the change was needed and the proposed outcome of the change? Part 2 - Interview Summary You will submit a report (1 page, Microsoft Word, 12-pt font, one-inch margins, single space) written objectively that summarizes the insight your contact provided. This portion will later become part of your Consulting Report Recommendations. You are submitting it first so that it can be reviewed and revised before presenting it to your client organization (I will assume the role of your client). This interview summary must be complete and professional. Grading Criteria for Part 2 (up to 50 points total). Include the following: 1. Ask your contact the questions below (please note that your contact may not be able to answer all of them). Be able to adapt them to the past tense if the organization recently completed the change efforts. a. What does management think the problem/opportunity area is/entails? b. What has been tried in the past to correct the problem/opportunity area? c. If there is not a “problem”, what does management want to improve, develop, or implement through a change management effort? d. How is the change management effort related to the mission, vision, values, strategy? e. What prior changes have been implemented successfully or unsuccessfully? f. What is the employees’ perspective of the change? g. What communication tools are being used to keep employees/stakeholders apprised of the progress during the implementation of the change? h. How would management and employees know if the change effort is/was successful? MGMT 4860 Org. Change – Team Project, Consulting Report Page | 4 2. Summarize the information gathered through interview in 2-3 paragraphs discussing the 3 main points your contact discussed related to the change effort. These paragraphs must be based on the questions you asked them and additional insight they provided to you. 3. Provide proof that you conducted the interview as an attachment (e.g., screenshots) and that all team members participated. Upload your notes and any other questions you prepared in advance of this interview. 4. Include the following information at the end of your Interview Summary: o Name and title of interviewee o Contact information (e.g., email address) o Date of interview Part 3 – Consulting Report Recommendations You will submit a report (3-5 pages, Microsoft Word, 12-pt font, one-inch margins, single space) written objectively. The Organizational Analysis (Part 1) and the Interview Summary (Prat 2) will become part of your Consulting Report Recommendations (Part 3) submission after your revisions. This report and the Appendix will be provided to your client (me). Grading Criteria for Part 3 (up to 50 points total). Include the following: I. Revised Organizational Analysis. Include the same sections discussed above. II. Revised Interview Summary. Include the same sections discussed above. III. Recommendations (up to 40 points). 1. Summarize the existing problem/opportunity area and the change effort (up to 5 points). 2. Review John Kotters process for Leading Change. At what stage of this process is your organization currently? What stages of the process did your organization implement successfully? What stages of the process did your organization fail to implement and why? (up to 5 points) 3. Review additional concepts from our materials and briefly summarize the main points of leading change successfully, designing organizations, etc. (as discussed by Daft, Kotter and other sources in the modules). Use this summary to better understand the change effort and formulate recommendations for implementation. (up to 10 points) 4. Clearly specify 2-3 recommendations how to facilitate the change effort based on John Kotter’s model and/or any other models we have covered in our textbook/materials. What could the organization do differently/better? Why is this feasible? (up to 20 points) IV: Appendix (up to 10 points; not included in the 3-5 page requirement for the report) 1. You will submit an Appendix containing any of the following, depending on your topic: a) References (in APA format or another format you are familiar with; this list needs to match all in-text citations you have included in your report). b) Informational brochures of the organization c) links to relevant websites d) links to budget documents and financials e) sample communication you used to get in touch with your contact f) any other legitimate and reputable resources you consulted (e.g., DOL website) in support of your recommendations. You can also include all supporting documentation as separate attachments with your submission. MGMT 4860 Org. Change – Team Project, Consulting Report Page | 5 Part 4 – Individual Reflection You will submit a report of 5 Takeaways and Reflection (1 page, Microsoft Word, 12-pt font, one-inch margins, single space) summarizing what you learned from the change effort at this particular organization. You will also reflect on what you learned about yourself and career choices during the completion of the assignment and this course. Feel free to also reflect on what you learned about collaboration in teams and within organizations. Grading Criteria for Part 4 (up to 30 points total). Include the following: 1. Summarize the existing problem/opportunity area and the change effort. 2. List up to 5 takeaways from the current processes and/or intentions of the organization (e.g., lessons learned) specifically related to organization design and change. 3. Write a paragraph answering: Did the analysis and interview give you insight into an important organizational issue? What did you learn about organization design and/or change that you may not have known before? 4. Write a paragraph answering: Based on this information, what did you learn about yourself and your career goals? 5. Write a paragraph answering: Based on the project, what did you learn about collaboration in teams and how collaboration occurs within organizations? You will compose grammatically correct sentences, write well-developed paragraphs, and express ideas coherently. Submissions must have complete sentences, correct punctuation, and capitalization. Avoid using abbreviations and acronyms without appropriate clarification. Cite your sources and include a list of corresponding references. APA style is preferred.