EFFECTIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING & DECISION MAKING In this project, students will be given a case and asked to give a collective decision about it. The purpose of the project is to

Course Project Guidelines

SFT 120

EFFECTIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING & DECISION MAKING

Weight: 30% Semester: Summer 2022

2021 – 2022

I. Introduction

II. Learning Outcomes

III. Project Files

IV. Deliverables & Project Management

V. Plagiarism

VI. Project Summary

VII. Project Description

VIII. Grading Rubrics

Introduction In this project, students will be given a case and asked to give a collective decision about it. The purpose of the project is to help students understand the ways teams can work together effectively to solve problems. Within this regard, they will be asked to apply the knowledge they gain in the course and reflect on their experience. Learning Outcomes By the end of this project, students will be able to:

1. Use divergent thinking techniques 2. Use convergent thinking techniques 3. Conduct effective problem-solving and decision-making processes 4. Reach a closure and give a collective decision 5. Develop an action plan

in a collective decision-making process implemented through a case study. Project Files

• All deliverables should be submitted within the assigned dates according to the guidelines.

Deliverables (use the templates provided)

• Deliverable 1: Project Deliverable 1 (Assignment 4) will be the video recording of the group zoom meeting (15%)

• Deliverable 2: Project Deliverable 2 (Assignment 5) will be a reflection report based on a template (15%)

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism will not be accepted or tolerated under any circumstance. Students must paraphrase the literature, cite and reference accordingly to APA style of referencing. Please refer to the AUM students’ handbook for more details on plagiarism.

Project Summary Case Study: Please read the case below carefully. Your project will be based on this case study. You work in the sales team for a local car dealership. Until recently, your dealership was the top seller of Tianda Cars in the state. Tianda Cars has been mostly famous for its sports car models. They also produce SUVs but their sales volume is not big enough. When the manufacturer Tianda Cars decided not to continue making sports cars, sales dropped off significantly. Your team is asked to find ways to increase the sales for SUV models. Therefore, you are supposed to have a team meeting, discuss the problem to find out the possible solutions, and give a collective decision. Based on your ideas, you will identify the objectives and tasks for putting the solutions into practice. Organize the tasks into an action plan.

Project Description • Deliverable 1: Video submission (15%)

In order to solve the problem in the case study, the students are supposed to conduct a zoom meeting with the contribution of all team members. During the meeting they should practice the following:

• Use at least one of the divergent thinking techniques • Use at least one of the convergent thinking techniques • Apply their own approach for decision-making to reach a closure • Develop an action plan

Deliverable 2: Report (15%) In Project Deliverable 2 (Assignment 5) the students will prepare a group report. In order to do so, they will go through the following steps:

• They will download the Project Deliverable 2 (Assignment 5) file from Moodle.

• They will answer the questions in the report file collectively.

• One member of each team must submit a soft copy of Deliverable 2 on Turnitin.

Note that all group members should participate in this task and it is the group’s responsibility to ensure that no plagiarism is detected and the format of the report is correct. Please refer to the rubrics for grading criteria. Important notes: – For all group related work, the entire team is responsible for the team outcome and the

deliverables, except for the specific parts of the project that may be graded individually depending on the project’s requirement and as communicated in the project document.

– Late submission policy will be applied. – Please refer to the course syllabus for late submission and plagiarism cases.

Grade distribution Deliverable 1: Video Submission 15% Deliverable 2: Report 15%

* The grading rubric for Project Deliverable 2 (Assignment 5) will be included in the Project Deliverable 2 (Assignment 5) file itself.

SFT 120

PROJECT DELIVERABLE 1 (ASSIGNMENT 4)

GRADING RUBRIC (15%)

GROUP: ________ SECTION: _______ SUMMER 2022

Criteria Unsatisfactory Poor Satisfactory Average Good Very Good Using at least one of the divergent thinking techniques effectively

0 4 10 14 16 20

Using at least one of the convergent thinking techniques effectively 0 4 10 14 16 20

Applying an approach deliberately for decision-making to reach a closure

0 4 10 14 16 20

Developing an action plan 0 4 10 14 16 20

Regularity: Conducting effective problem- solving and decision-making processes 0 1 2 3 4 5

Creativity and Quality: Additional creative effort is seen in the video. 0 1 2 3 4 5

Team Effort: Team effort and a strong collaboration is observed. All group members’ contribution is apparent in the video.

0 1 2 3 4 5

Duration. Meets time requirement (3’to 5’): Video Duration: _________ 0 1 2 3 4 5

NOTES:

TOTAL POINTS _________%