Read Chapter 5: Taking Action and Leading Change of the course textbook, One Step at a Time: A Roadmap for Problem Solving & Making a Difference. Review

Model Executive Summary

I.M. Student

The University of Arizona Global Campus

GEN499: General Education Capstone

Professor Tough

August 8, 2032

The Problem

Over the last two years, our company has rapidly expanded and exceeded the expected projections for growth. Whereas personnel have been added to handle the additional workload, the physical environment has not been adjusted to accommodate the increase in staff. As a result, there has been a small but steady decline in office morale and a corresponding drop in productivity because there is nowhere for employees to recharge their batteries during work hours. In summary, the problem is that our office does not have a designated area for employees to decompress during their work breaks which is having a negative effect on office morale and productivity.

Background Overview

This problem exists in a professional context which is the physical design of the office facility. The office was originally selected as it comfortably accommodated the small number of original office staff. Four desks fit the open area, and a small couch and coffee table were placed at the end wall for employee use. This arrangement worked well for the first 18 months of the company’s existence.

In the second half of the second year, the business experienced exponential growth which required additional staff to handle the work. The couch and coffee table were removed to accommodate additional desks for the growth in personnel. At first, employees were excited about the positive company growth and didn’t mind working eight-nine hours right alongside their colleagues. After about a year, the fast pace of keeping up with the growth began to wear on the employees, especially since there was no place to escape the constant buzz of telephone conversations, the underlying hum of electricity from the monitors and computers, and quite simply, the experience of always being with and around colleagues during the entire workday. Employees began to feel more stress as it was clear there was nowhere to escape and recharge their batteries other than leaving the office completely which is costly in terms of time and money.

Office leadership has also experienced struggles due to the rapid growth of the company. When the office was small, leadership could directly address all employees at once with ease and

Use the 5W1H method to

develop your problem

statement.

State the problem statement clearly and succinctly.

Include your description of the problem from the Week 2 discussion here.

An executive summary is a concise summary of a business report. It restates the purpose of the report, highlights the major points of the report, and describes any results, conclusions, or recommendations from the report.

An executive summary should be aimed at an audience that is interested in and wants to learn more about the purpose of the main business report.

informality; however, as the need for additional personnel led to hiring many more employees, it became clear that mid-level leadership would be necessary to bridge the gap between employees and upper leadership. Not having experienced the company from its inception, newer employees did not feel as emotionally tied to the company and were less willing to accept growth pains such as the limitations of the physical environment. As a result, employee concerns were not as readily expressed which fed into the stress and decreased morale within the organization.

To be fair, many of the original employees also felt the stress of rapid physical growth of the organization. However, they were not as likely to openly complain or criticize leadership for not recognizing and acting on the problem as were newer employees.

To increase employee morale and resume productivity levels, this problem needs to be addressed within the next few months before there is a serious impact on the organization’s finances and organizational culture.

Research Results

Research to learn more about the problem has revealed some interesting results. A series of informal, separate conversations with six different employees were conducted at a local coffee shop that was quiet and offered comfortable seating. Two major themes arose from the conversations. First, employees indicated that they did not like having to eat lunch at their desks and were concerned that there was no place to store lunches (i.e. refrigerator, etc.). Second, employees identified the lack of “quiet” space to gather their thoughts when faced with a stressful situation as being a demoralizing issue. There is a plethora of research to support the impact of employer practices on employee morale as well as employee morale on office productivity. According to Jones and Farmer (2020), having a designated “retreat” area for employees to use is beneficial to their psychological health and can have positive effects on their physical health as well. We all know that stress can cause multiple issues, so having a stress-free zone would benefit employees to clear their heads and relax during their break times. Davis and Carter (2018) indicated in their research that employees who feel heard and supported are more engaged and productive at work. Employees whose employers listen to, and address concerns are more patient to await change. Trust between employee and employer is also a very important factor that affects morale and productivity according to Wilson (2022). A conversation with the building management office indicated that in the past, tenants have been given permission to remodel their offices as necessary. Tenants have also had the option to relocate to a larger office space area (depending on availability). Building management is very willing to work with our office as they want to keep us as satisfied tenants.

Potential Solutions There are two potential solutions to address this problem. The first possibility is to expand the current office to include a functional and sizeable breakroom that includes a small kitchen with microwave and refrigerator. There is space in the adjoining empty office to relocate the adjacent

Consider any biases around the situation.

Include the results of interviews conducted about the problem from Week 3.

Include research and data results from Week 3. Cite any outside resources, using in-text citations.

Explain both solutions described in Week 4.

wall for the build out. This would also accommodate expansion of desk space in the main office area and provide an additional private conference space for confidential meetings. The cost of the buildout would be absorbed by the building management up front and rolled into a new negotiated lease. Employees could continue to work in the existing space while construction was in progress thereby making the transition somewhat seamless. The time frame for the project is estimated to be approximately two months to get the necessary approvals, construction plans, materials, and labor. The second possibility would be to move into a larger office space that already has a separate kitchen and large conference room on a higher floor. This move would involve a weekend move which would not disrupt the flow of office work. This larger existing space would have a better view and more room which would increase the monthly lease amount to be slightly more than the new lease for a buildout. Benefits to the buildout would be estimating and building out to accommodate future projected company growth whereas benefits to relocate into a move-in ready office would be a more professional and streamlined visual appeal for employees. Drawbacks to the buildout would be signing a lease for a minimum of three years to recover the cost of the buildout whereas drawbacks of the move-in ready office would be no possibility of additional buildout in the future to further enlarge the office.

Recommendation

Having a separate break room will allow employees to disconnect from their work activities for a while which can lead to increased morale and enhanced organizational climate, increased productivity, and a more positive impact on customers and clientele.

It would require a considerable amount of capital to fund the project, but the return on the investment to enlarge the office to include a breakroom or retreat and separate conference room would be captured in the increased productivity provided by employees who are satisfied with their work environments. The increase in the lease amount could be passed along to the consumer by incrementally raising the cost of the product.

Of the two potential solutions, the recommended solution is to relocate the entire office to the move-in ready office on the top floor of the building. Having met growth projections for the next three years already and understanding the marketplace trends leads to the belief that growth will slow to a more manageable pace for the foreseeable future. Moving into the finished office space will also address and enhance employee morale more quickly whereas requiring them to work alongside a noisy build-out would increase the existing stress to unmanageable levels.

The action plan moving forward would be to negotiate the new lease with the building management by the end of next week, arrange for a weekend relocation in two weeks, and celebrate the new space with the employees and customers.

State the benefits and drawbacks of each potential solution.

Consider the audience and what they need to believe and know to get their buy-in.

State the action plan.

References

Davis, B., & Carter, R. (2022, March 4). Listening to your employees: Benefits abound. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/entry/listening-to-your-employees

Jones, A., & Farmer B. (2018). Benefits of employee retreats. Journal of Office Management, 8(3), 207-222

Wilson, S. (2022, January 10). Building employee trust [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/samuel_wilson_building_employee_trust

Include a list of References in your report. Note that in a business setting, an executive summary is usually a section at the beginning of a longer business report, with references listed at the end of that extended report. The format for listing references in a professional summary or business report may differ from an academic paper. For this assignment, use APA style for your reference entries. Since a real-world business report may not follow APA standards, you may make an exception by formatting these entries using single-spaced lines without a hanging indent. Include in-text citations to indicate where you used these sources in your summary.