Week 5 Discussion – Personal and Organizational Decision-Making Prepare:Complete this self-inventoryLinks to an external site. to explore your personal decision-making style.

Revisit the case study from the Learn section this week: Organizational Decision Making: The Case of CoolToys, Inc.

Discuss:

Answer the following questions about the decision-making self-inventory:

What category or categories did you align with based on your results?

What are you most confident in and what would you like to work on regarding your decision-making abilities?

In the case study, CoolToys’ leadership is considering forgoing profitability in the short term for future growth opportunities. In the business world you will be tasked with making strategic decisions.

What stands out to you as the most important data set in the case study to inform CoolToys’ leadership about their product mix decision? Why?

Provide a substantive response to one or more of your classmates. CLASSMATE POST-Good afternoon class,

   The result of my self-inventory concluded that I am a systematic decision-maker. The description states, “You make decisions slowly and carefully. You make sure that you have all the facts before you proceed. You carefully consider all of your options in order to make the best choice.” (1) I am not surprised by my result and agree wholeheartedly. I think things through thoroughly, look at all of the options, do research to the point where I become an expert in the situation or the topic, and make a confident, informed decision. I may often ask for outside opinions but only from those who I know are an expert in the situation at hand and can give a credible, professional opinion. I often joke and say, “It’s the Capricorn in me.”, as that is one of the traits of people with my zodiac sign, but truthfully, I find it best to take my time doing as much research as possible and make an informed decision than making a rash, quick decision which will lead to having to clean up a mess in the future. As I mentioned, I am confident in the decisions I make because I know how I got to it and how much research/work I put in to get to such a decision. Things of often black and white for me, there’s not much grey area. Upon reading the other result options, I agree that neither of those fits me. I know many people, my husband in particular, who would fall under Intuitive. He always takes his sweet time coming to a decision because he’s waiting for a “feeling”. What?! A feeling? I don’t have the patience to wait for a feeling and am based on facts. The other results, Dependent, Avoidant, and Spontaneous just don’t fit me either. I’m looking forward to my classmate’s results in this self-inventory.

•    I would like to work on my spontaneity. Although at times I may seem spontaneous, everything I do requires much thought and effort, I just keep the process to myself. For example, family vacations. I do research for hours on where the best place to go is, the best place to stay, eat, and play. By the time I’m proposing a certain location to my family, it’s because I’m sure it’ll be a good fit and we will enjoy it. My family, however, always says to me, “You love booking vacations at the last minute or from one minute to another.” This isn’t true. Again it goes with my confidence in the amount of research that I did that I know it’s a good fit for us and everything is already worked out. I just need the final stamp of approval. My husband recently told me, “You do so much research you ruin the experience of exploration because you already know.”, and he’s right. I need to be more spontaneous and go where the wind takes me or go with the flow as they say.

   The most important data set to me in CoolToy’s case study is Table 3 which displays the demand that certain products have. Demand is paramount to the success of a company, especially a toy company. Toys tend to pick up popularity as quickly as they lose popularity so it would be smart for the toy company to jump on the bandwagon for whatever is most popular at the time and has the most demand. Based on the other tables, the time required to produce one unit is on the lower end compared to the other toys and raw material is the lowest on the list. From all points of view, especially the demand, Ace Truck looks like the smartest choice.

Sources:

1. Sasha Grutzeck. 10/6/2014. What Kind of Decision Maker Are You? https://mylearningsolutions.org/2014/10/06/what-ki… 

Week 6 Discussion – Strategic Communication in Change Management

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1. Revisit the Learn section for this week to review Kotter’s 8 Steps for Leading Change and the case study: The Importance of Strategic Communication During Change Management at Palm College of Hospitality and Event Management.
2. In Kotter’s model, the first step is “establishing a sense of urgency.”

Discuss 2 examples of how a sense of urgency can be created to overcome communication barriers within an organization.

How could you use this strategy as you develop the communication plan for your company?

1. In the case study Palm College of Hospitality and Event Management is undergoing a change in administrational leadership. The changes need to be communicated in such a way that it improves the workers’ morale and provides faculty and staff with the information that they need to support the new vision of the college.

If you were a business consultant for Palm College, what recommendation(s) would you offer to the new dean regarding his email and future communication channels?

How can you apply the change management communication strategies discussed in the case study to your company’s consulting plan?

Provide a substantive response to one or more of your classmates.  CLASSMATE POST-Hi Class,

    Two examples of how a sense of urgency can be created to overcome communication barriers within an organization are setting deadlines and “Identifying and discussing crises, potential crises, or major opportunities.” (1) Creating deadlines forces communication, collaboration, and accountability between employees and departments and creates a sense of urgency to accomplish a shared goal. By openly discussing crises and opportunities, organizations can gather the collective expertise and creativity of their workforce to navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and drive positive outcomes. All in all, creating a shared purpose and collaboration are perfect examples of how to create a sense of urgency to overcome communication barriers.

In regard to how I can use this strategy as I develop the communication plan for McDonald’s, I would ensure that the communication plan includes regular updates and discussions on industry trends, competition within the industry, and challenges faced by the company. By openly addressing potential crises or major opportunities, such as shifts in consumer preferences or emerging market trends, McDonald’s can foster a culture of awareness among its employees. This would encourage proactive communication and collaboration across departments, enabling the company to respond swiftly to changing market conditions and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

    If I were a business consultant for Palm College, the recommendation I would offer to the new dean regarding his email and future communication channels is to hold a meeting to familiarize himself with the staff and faculty, even if it’s virtual via Zoom, Teams, or WebEx. The purpose of the meeting would be to gain insight and hold a Q&A type of discussion to build rapport and gain a mutual understanding of the team dynamics and vice versa. Being that the last dean wasn’t very communicative, the email caught the staff and faculty by surprise and may have led to resentment and feelings of frustration about the constant changes with lack of transparency. It’s important to have an open line of communication so that staff feels heard. This ultimately leads to trust and loyalty to the organization and the new Dean.

    Ways I can apply the change management communication strategies discussed in the case study to your company’s consulting plan is, as mentioned above, by holding multiple “town hall” meetings to educate and gain feedback from the staff. This fosters a culture of trust and transparency and leads to cooperation by the staff concerning the new regulations that will be put in place.

Sources: 

Harvard Business Review. 2011. HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Change Management. https://eds-p-ebscohost-com.libdatab.strayer.edu/e. 

WEEK 6 ASSIGMENT -Overview
The assignments in this course are framed around a scenario in which you are hired by a company as a consultant to provide a recommendation on solving a challenge or capitalizing on an opportunity. You will draw upon your knowledge and skills around operations, finance, marketing, leadership, etc. for each assignment. The assignments will be completed in a PowerPoint presentation template and will be combined into a final pitch deck that you can add to your portfolio. In your Week 3 assignment you shared important data and insights about your company. In this assignment, you will continue in your role as a hired consultant and analyze that data to create a recommendation for your company to either solve a problem or capitalize on an opportunity. This will be the 2nd part of your pitch deck presentation.Instructions:
The assignment must be completed in the provided PowerPoint template.

Download and save the Week 6_Assignment_Template [PPTX] Download Week 6_Assignment_Template [PPTX].

Follow the guidelines provided in the Strayer Library: SWS Guidelines for Slideshow Presentations

Review the rubric carefully before you begin working on the assignment.

Using the template, create an eight-slide presentation that will be part of a pitch deck for the company that hired you as a business consultant.

Each slide should include 1-2 paragraphs of speaker notes that will be utilized to explain the content to the company leadership during your presentation. (Note: A video tutorial has been provided under the resources section below)

For Slide 1. Title slide – add the name of the company as a subtitle and your name and the date.For Slide 2. Identify one challenge or opportunity that you will address as a consultant. In your speaker notes, explain the basis or rationale behind this selection. Remember, you are creating a pitch to the company leadership. Convince them why they should address this challenge or opportunity.For slides 3-4 research close competitors of the company to determine their approach to a similar challenge or opportunity.

Slides 3-4. Analyze similar solutions for the challenge or opportunity from two competitors. Be sure to provide specific, relevant details to connect the competitors’ approach to your recommendation. (Detailed explanation should be placed in the speaker notes.)

Sides 5-7. Recommend an approach to solve the challenge or capitalize on the opportunity identified for the company. Include specific details explaining which areas in the company would be the focus of your recommendation. (e.g. human resources, management, accounting/finance, marketing, etc.) (Detailed explanation should be placed in the speaker notes.)

Slide 8. Sources slide. Use three or more quality sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source slide at least one time within your assignment.

For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library.

1. Produce writing that is clear and well organized and applies appropriate Strayer Writing Standards (SWS) style. Writing contains accurate grammar, mechanics, and spelling.This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The library is your home for SWS assistance, including citations and formatting. Please refer to the Library site for all support. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.Resources
2. SWS Guidelines for Slideshow Presentations

The following tools available in the Strayer Library will help you with your research:

Company, Industry, and Market Research using Business Source UltimateLinks to an external site. (Start with this resource – it will be very helpful as you search for specific information.)

1. Business Source Ultimate Library Guide
2. Business Source Ultimate Database (Tip: Search for case studies as a document type, could also add a NAICS code based on industry and then type the type of issue into the search bar.)

Market Line Company Profiles – Type the company name in the 2nd field. (Note: Your company may or may not be listed here.)

SWOT analyses can be found under the publication type

IBISWorld Database – Library Guide (This is a good resource for researching competitor information.)

Library of Congress Research GuidesLinks to an external site. (See their left-hand menu – use this resource to look for competitor information on public and private companies.)

The following websites can provide helpful data on budgets and spending:

U.S. National Debt: Implications for Organizations

Government spending (Mind map)

1. Fiscal Data US Treasury Dept.Links to an external site.

USA SpendingLinks to an external site.

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