Last week, you prepared a report indicating the entry process into your real or hypothetical organization. Company Name: Amazon This week: Prepare a report on the cont

My OD Intervention Project—Task 3

Last week, you prepared a report indicating the entry process into your real or hypothetical organization.

Company Name: Amazon

This week:

Prepare a report on the contracting process to include:

· Statement of the problem, including the appropriate intervention level (individual or group).

· Implications of the problem for the organization.

· Methodology or approach to the OD engagement:

· Data-gathering proposal, including what data is to be gathered and from whom.

· Tools and techniques proposed for use to undertake the project, reasons to choose those tools and techniques, and an explanation of how the tools and techniques are appropriate for the level of the problem identified.

· Outcomes the organization should anticipate as a result of the intervention.

· Timetable for the overall engagement, with milestones listed for intermediate stages, to include:

· When you will gather data

· When you will have meetings with management.

· When you will implement individual or team interventions. How will these interventions be completed? For example, how many meetings will you conduct? How long will the meetings last? How long will the intervention last?

· When you expect the intervention to be completed.

· When you will have a wrap-up meeting with management (or with the entire organization or selected parts of it).

· Your needs and role as the change agent.

· Confidentiality agreement.

· Fees and when fees should be paid (if you are an external consultant/OD practitioner).

· Your qualifications to take the engagement (if you are an external consultant/OD practitioner).

Submission Details:

· Your report should be a 5- to 7-page Microsoft Word document formatted in APA style. Cite any sources you use following the APA guidelines.

· Due by 9/2/24

· Make certain to include in text citations from your course  text in addition to your outside leadership resources within your main  post. This adds credibility to your argument. [Textbook]: Anderson, D. (2019). Organization development: The process of leading organizational change (5th ed.). Sage. ISBN: 9781544333021 

· No plagiarism will be tolerated. Must be in 7th Edition APA format with 6 cited sources within the last 5 years.

· No AI support, score must be 0% and less than < 10% score on Turnitin

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Week 3 Project

Student Full Name

Name of University

Course Number and Name

Instructor Name

Date

Everything in Blue should be deleted

Due Week 3

Prepare a report on the contracting process to include

Present a 5-7 page paper in a Microsoft Word document formatted in APA style. Cite any sources using the APA guidelines. Review the Instructor Insights in the Announcements for rubric expectations for citations/research/references.

Write a report including the following:

Week 3 Project

Write your introduction here: Name of your selected organization (you can provide a disguised name of the selected organization). It should be 1 to 2 good paragraphs that introduce the reader to your topic and it should explain in detail what your paper will be discussing. Much of your introduction may be taken from the assignment itself (in your own words). Read the scenario to get a feel for what the paper is about and explain what your paper will be discussing. Remember, this document is just a template. You will want to review the assignment AND rubric for full details. Finally, please ask me any questions about this assignment.

Statement of Problem

Statement of the problem, including the appropriate intervention level (individual or group).

Implications

Analyze the problem and its implications of the problem for the organization

Methodology

Methodology or approach to the OD engagement:

Data-gathering proposal, including what data is to be gathered and from whom

Tools and techniques proposed for use to undertake the project, reasons to choose those tools and techniques, and an explanation of how the tools and techniques are appropriate for the level of the problem identified

Outcomes

Outcomes the organization should anticipate as a result of the intervention .

Timetable

Timetable for the overall engagement, with milestones listed for intermediate stages, to include:

When you will gather data.

When you will have meetings with management.

When you will implement individual or team interventions. How will these interventions be completed? For example, how many meetings will you conduct? How long will the meetings last? How long with the intervention last?

When you expect the intervention to be completed.

When you will have a wrap-up meeting with management (or with the entire organization or selected parts of it).

Needs and Role

Your needs and role as the change agent.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality (explain the need, roles, expectations, ramifications, penalties, etc.).

Fees

Fees and when fees should be paid.

Qualifications

Your qualifications to take the engagement.

References

List your reference here in APA format. The reference page must include all of the references you used, listed in proper APA format. Wikipedia does not qualify as an academic resource.

Note: You will be graded on the quality of your answers, the logic/organization of the report, your language skills, and your writing skills.

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Exemplary	Proficient	Satisfactory
Well Supported	Sufficiently Supported	Weakly Supported
3 or more disparate citations	2 or more disparate citations	1 or more disparate citations

Reputable sources (sometimes called reliable sources) rely on the reputation of their publication (ex. newspaper or journal) for having high standards of researching, fact-checking, accountability, and ethical reporting.

Example: Wall Street Journal or New York Times

Credible sources rely on the expertise of the author to know the topic completely. The author should have a higher degree (master's or doctorate) in the field they are writing.

Example: A medical doctor writes about the importance of vaccinating children

Scholarly sources are written by experts who have a higher degree in their field and are written for other experts to help them further their research and understanding. They often have a long references list at the end and are sometimes peer-reviewed.

Example: A medical doctor writes about a study she conducted on overweight mice in an academic journal

Scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles can be identified by the following characteristics:

Author(s): They are typically written by professors, researchers, or other scholars who specialize in the field and are often identified by the academic institution at which they work.

Purpose: They are published by professional associations, university publishers or other academic publishers to report research results or discuss ongoing research in detail.

Language: They are highly specialized and may use technical language.

Layout: They will cite their sources and include footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical citations and/or a list of bibliographic references.

Content: They may include graphs and tables and they undergo a peer review process before publication.

Helpful tips for finding scholarly articles:

Limit your search to peer-reviewed journals only. Some databases allow you to limit searches for articles to peer reviewed journals only. For example, Academic Search Complete has a check-off "Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Articles" filter:

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Week 1 Project

Student Full Name

Name of University

Course Number and Name

Instructor Name

Date

Week 1 Project

Introduction

Amazon is one of the largest and recognized e-commerce and technology companies which is known for its innovations and fast development. Nonetheless, like any other large establishment it has its challenges which must be addressed through carefully constructed plans if it is to remain a force to reckon with in the industry and achieve future growth. In this report, I am to present an OD intervention plan for Amazon, and in this case, I will assume to be an external consultant. This approach will enable me to take a neutral stand and use my knowledge to solve the problems facing Amazon’s efficiency, workers, and other goals.

Organizational Background

Amazon was established in 1994 by Jeff Bezos and up to the present, it has become one of the biggest corporations in the world with focus on e-commerce and cloud computing services (Stone, 2022). Amazon has grown significantly to have over 16 million employees worldwide by 2024 and operates in various segments such as e-commerce, video and audio streaming services, AI and cloud computing services through AWS (Stone, 2022). The company is a market leader in a number of sectors, including e-commerce where it holds a large market share in the United States and other countries Also, Amazon Prime membership has come to be one of the core revenue streams for the company and is considered a membership program which provides free and discounted shipping, video and music streaming and many others.

The firm sells almost everything including electronics, books, clothing, and even food through the acquisition of Whole Foods Market (Stone, 2022). It also offers cloud computing services to organisations and governments across the globe. However, as a market leader, Amazon has numerous challenges that can be attributed to its size and structure such as employee relations, operational effectiveness, and keeping the customer at the heart of the business.

Approach

For this project, I will come in as an external consultant to the group. This approach will afford me the opportunity to look at Amazon’s problems as an outsider and apply my knowledge without being prejudiced by the company’s politics and procedures. Being an external consultant it is possible to have a view of other companies and their practices, and introduce the best practices and some new approaches that may be not evident for an internal team. This approach also allows for free flow of communication within all levels of the organization because the employees might be more free with an outsider.

Amazon was established by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and it is one of the biggest e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital streaming company. It has more than 16 million employees all over the globe and they serve in the sectors of retail, technology and logistics (Stone, 2022). Amazon is famous for its customer-oriented strategy and the constant improvement and optimization of its processes. Some of the important products and services of the company are the online retail services, Amazon Prime, AWS and the Amazon Echo smart devices (Stone, 2022). Nevertheless, Amazon has various issues with regards to the employees, operations, and customer satisfaction, and this intervention seeks to address.

Organizational Challenges at Amazon

Employee Engagement and Satisfaction

The biggest problem Amazon faces is the lack of employee engagement and satisfaction. While occupying the leading positions in the market, Amazon has faced some controversies concerning its working conditions, especially in the fulfilment centers (Yohn, 2022). High rates of employee turnover, instances of burnout and complaints about work-life imbalance are some of the challenges that have led to low morale and efficiency (Yohn, 2022). The necessity for change in the area stems from the growing advocacy for better working conditions in Amazon, which are inextricably linked to workers’ satisfaction, turnover, and output.

Operational Efficiency

Another critical test facing Amazon is the continuation of operational efficiency, considering its rapid growth. The logistics, the complex network of warehouses, delivery services, and supply chain management—is, in fact, at the core of the company's business model (Nguyen, 2019). Inefficiencies in these areas will mean delays, rising costs, and dissatisfied customers. It is the huge scale of operations at Amazon that has impelled such operational efficiency change, which calls for continuous innovation and optimization to meet customer demand while keeping a tab on costs.

Customer-Centricity

One of the key factors that have enabled Amazon to achieve its success has been its focus on customers (Stone, 2022). Nonetheless, there is a problem of how to reconcile customer services with the overall profitability of the organization. As the company expands its product and service lines, it may lose sight of the needs of the customer. This is compounded by the fact that the e-commerce and cloud computing industries are becoming more and more crowded with competitors providing similar services (Stone, 2022). The requirement for change in this area arises from the need to enhance the quality of customer service that Amazon prides itself with, while at the same controlling costs as the company moves into new markets.

Conclusion

To conduct the above intervention, as an external OD consultant I would first make a call to the CHRO and the COO of Amazon. These leaders are critical in managing issues to do with employee engagement, operational effectiveness, and customer orientation. Some of the key provisions that must be included in the contract include the Scope of Work that defines the areas to be addressed, the Deliverables that will be provided such as reports and recommendations, the Timeline that will be used to achieve each phase of the project, and the Confidentiality clause that will prevent the disclosure of sensitive information. Regarding the Fee Structure, I would suggest a fixed fee for the initial assessment phase and then a variable fee for the successful implementation of the intervention, which will make my incentives aligned with Amazon and the focus on the results.

References

Nguyen, V. (2019, July 18). Operational challenges of expanding to Amazon, explained. Digital Commerce 360. https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2019/07/10/operational-challenges-of-expanding-to-amazon-explained/#:~:text=Key%20challenges%20include%20managing%20inventory,returns%20to%20Amazon’s%20high%20standards.

Stone, B. (2022).  Amazon unbound: Jeff Bezos and the invention of a global empire. Simon and Schuster.

Yohn, D. L. (2022, October 12). Amazon faces a crucible moment with employees. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/deniselyohn/2020/06/02/amazon-faces-a-crucible-moment-with-employees/

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Week 2 Project

Student Full Name

Name of University

Course Number and Name

Instructor Name

Date

Week 2 Project

Introduction

The organization to be featured in this project is Amazon, a multinational technology company that deals with e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital streaming among others (Boewe & Schulten, 2019). Amazon being an iconic success story, it has numerous issues concerning employee engagement, operational effectiveness and customers. These are problems that if not solved on time can have negative implications on Amazon’s market position and may slow down its growth (Deszca et al., 2019). To assist Amazon in addressing these challenges while enhancing organizational productivity, I will be serving as an external OD consultant for the organization and am charged with the development and deployment of an intervention (Anderson, 2019). This report will outline the entry process with emphasis on the diagnosis approach, the assessment of the organizational environment for change, identification of the key organizational dys-functionality, and the feedback strategies to be used.

Diagnosis

When starting the work on Amazon as an external consultant, the selection of the diagnostic approach for this project would be a problem-oriented diagnosis. Amazon, despite its incredible success, has its acute and organic issues, ranging from high turnover rates within the company, the burnout of employees, and operational problems in its supply chains and distribution centers (Boewe & Schulten, 2019). These issues have a direct implication on raising the rates of productivity and happiness among employees, which is fundamental to the competitiveness and sustainability of the company especially in the ever emerging market. The problem-oriented diagnosis is most appropriate when the organisation is facing various issues that hinder its functioning and development. Due to its emphasis on the basic problems, the diagnosis may warrant interventions that aim to solve these problems.

One of the advantages of the problem-oriented approach is that the fundamental reasons behind these problems are distinguished instead of only the signs of those problems (Anderson, 2019). For instance, high turnover could be an indication of other issues such as imprudent managerial scenarios, minimal career progression provisions or stressful working conditions. In this way, understanding these root causes would allow the intervention to be better aligned to target the underlying causes of the issues that are being experienced by the learners as opposed to just addressing symptoms of the problems (Anderson, 2019). This approach is better since it is less likely to omit important issues that may be specific to the Amazon environment hence less likely to provide lasting solutions.

Moreover, a problem-oriented diagnosis audaciously correlates with the philosophy of Amazon that places emphasis on the usage of data (Luthans et al., 2021). This approach can entail, for instance, the collection of data to determine the level and type of issues hence aligning with Amazon’s culture of quantification. By developing methods for presenting the evidence of these problems and their causes, a clearer and more persuasive picture can be painted to decision-makers that will create support for the intervention (Luthans et al., 2021). The solution-focused approach for addressing Amazon’s most significant issues will significantly enhance employee satisfaction, organizational performance, and efficiency.

Determination

In order to analyze Amazon’s preparedness for change, I would first conduct an organizational analysis that looks at the organization’s ability and desire to implement the proposed change. This entails the collection of data from employees within the organization through surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions. These tools assist in determining the general attitude towards change, recognize barriers that may exist and find out factors that can enhance the change process (Anderson, 2019). Through surveying a large number of employees, I will be able to determine if the leadership’s vision for change is in tandem with the employees’ preparedness for change.

Another important approach to identifying the readiness of change is to assess the organizational culture and the existing leadership (Deszca et al., 2019). The leadership of Amazon has a great impact on the changes within the organization, and the company’s involvement is essential. I would perform interviews with company’s executives to identify their perception of the problems, their interest in solving them, and their readiness to invest in the change. Furthermore, it will be useful to know the company’s culture – whether it is agile, receptive to change, or reluctant to change – as this will help to predict how change will be met (Deszca et al., 2019). For example, if the culture of Amazon is rigid and analytical but not inclined to change the existing procedures then it will affect the way change is managed.

Lastly, I would review the history of past change initiatives at Amazon to see if there are any patterns that can be seen in the successes or failures (Luthans et al., 2021). Looking at case studies of earlier transformations in the organization, it is possible to identify the best practices that can be applied in the context of Amazon and the possible mistakes that should be avoided. This historical analysis is useful in understanding some of the challenges that may be apparent in a change process, for instance cultural or structural issues, and thus allows the generation of strategies for handling the challenges (Luthans et al., 2021). Thus, based on the outcomes of these diagnostic methods, I can create a comprehensive picture of Amazon’s organizational culture and its potential for change, and develop the most effective strategy which will suit this organization most of all.

Issue and Level

According to the problem-oriented diagnostic analysis, the organization’s problem that needs to be addressed in Amazon is the issue of employee turnover in the fulfilment centers. This is a very important matter as it affects the operational aspect, the customers and even the overall business revenue. High turnover can lead to higher costs of recruiting, hiring, and training new employees, as well as possible negative impacts on service quality and delivery times (Anderson, 2019). This is important particularly for a company such as Amazon that has speed and reliability as its core strategic advantage.

The change has to start from the middle management level of fulfilment centers in order to effectively tackle the problem of high turnover. Middle managers are instrumental in shaping the day-to-day work atmosphere and engagement (Luthans et al., 2021). They are the ones who actually implement the policies at work, manage teams, and realize operational goals. Attention to this level can therefore bring about intervention at the very core of employee dissatisfaction: poor management practices, lack of career development, and support for work-life balance. Improving management practice at this level can have an effect on creating a more supportive and motivating work environment lower down that could help reduce the turnover rate.

Furthermore, for the change to occur specifically for the middle management position for the company, the senior management must also back it up. The senior leadership at Amazon must support the change process by allocating needed resources and defining expected improvements. In this way, the top management support makes sure that the initiatives established at the middle management level are aligned with the company’s general strategy and receive the amount of attention they require (Boewe & Schulten, 2019). Thus, if Amazon focuses on the right organizational levels and coordinates their actions, it will be possible to reduce turnover and stabilize the population of qualified personnel.

Feedback

To ensure that the changes made are effective it is crucial for the organization to receive timely and appropriate feedback. I would feedback to Amazon on the change that has been put in place at frequent intervals; the first being three months after implementation and subsequent reviews at six months intervals. This phased approach gives enough time for the assessment of the effects brought by the change while at the same time giving room for the changes to be altered as per the situation (Deszca et al., 2019). Some of the assessments will capture the short-term impacts and the employees’ perception of the changes in the early stages of the change process while others will measure the longer-term effects and the ability of the change to become institutionalized.

In order to capture the feedback on the effectiveness of the change, I shall incorporate a number of feedback mechanisms into the implementation plan. This entails designing specific surveys to elicit feedback from the employees regarding their experiences with the new management practices, job satisfaction, and commitment (Anderson, 2019). These surveys will be supported, however, by reviewing companies’ existing data, including the rates of turnover, the productivities’ measurements, and the employees’ performances, which may require some modification in order to be linked with particular results concerning the intervention (Luthans et al., 2021). Using survey data that has both qualitative and quantitative elements along with company reports will give a snapshot of the change’s impact and how changes can be made to better achieve the intended goals.

References

Anderson, D. (2019).  Organization development: The process of leading organizational change (5th Ed.). Sage. ISBN: 9781544333021

Boewe, J., & Schulten, J. (2019). The long struggle of the Amazon employees.  Rosa Luxemburg-Stiftung, Brussels. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361408187_The_long_struggle_of_the_Amazon_employees

Deszca, G., Ingols, C., & Cawsey, T. F. (2019).  Organizational change: An action-oriented toolkit. Sage Publications.

Luthans, F., Luthans, B. C., & Luthans, K. W. (2021).  Organizational behaviour: An evidence-based approach fourteenth edition. IAP.

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