OL 215 Final Project Two Guidelines and Rubric

Description

Overview

The final project for this course is the creation of a decision-making and principles of management paper.

As you complete this course, you will deepen your understanding of how effective management is a crucial aspect of overall business success, especially in a complex business world. As business and society continue to evolve, there will continue to be demand for managers who are able to organize their resources and strategically implement the functions of management to achieve the goals of an organization.

The final paper for the course is divided into two parts: Final Project One and Final Project Two. Both parts of the assessment will focus on decision making and the fundamental principles of management.

In Final Project One, you selected a successful company from the list provided in the Final Project One Document. You analyzed the company’s best practices and effective implementation of the fundamental principles of management.

In Final Project Two, with the help of your instructor, you will select a struggling company from the list provided. You will analyze the company’s ineffective implementation of the fundamental principles of management. Once you analyze the struggling company, your task will be to make recommendations for a management improvement plan explaining how the company’s management team can improve in areas such as decision making, employee performance, and sustainability. Final Project Two consists of the selection of the struggling company (a non-graded task due in Module Five) along with one milestone, which will be submitted to scaffold learning and to ensure quality final submissions. This milestone will be submitted in Module Six. Final Project Two will be submitted in Module Eight.

In Final Project Two, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

• Analyze how an organization’s goals influence organizational planning that informs strategic decision making
• Analyze the functions of management and ethical principles for executing effective decision making in organizations
• Apply management techniques that ensure the continuous improvement of personnel and business processes to measure organizational performance
• Apply communication techniques aimed at increasing employee performance, thus achieving organizational goals and objectives
• Illustrate the important connection between management and organizational culture

Directions

The general manager reviewed your analysis of a successful company and was impressed with your work. As a result, you have been asked to provide recommendations for a management improvement plan for a struggling company.

For Final Project Two, you will focus on a struggling company and make your recommendations in a management improvement plan. Be sure to focus on the company at the time of their struggle. Your recommendations will show how management performance, employee perception, and organizational success intersect.

You must select a company from the list of suggested companies provided in the Final Project Two Unsuccessful Companies and Search Terms document. Search terms are provided. These search terms will help you conduct research to learn more about the struggle of your chosen company.

Specifically, the following rubric criteria must be addressed:

1. Profile of a Struggling Company
   1. Assess how the management planning practices interfere with or prohibit the organization’s ability to optimally function. Use the fundamental principles of management in your explanation.
   2. Describe how the employees’ perception and organizational culture have been impacted by management’s performance. Consider the connections between management and its impact on culture.
   3. Explain how communication has played a part in management’s inability to increase employee performance. Consider the connections to specific communication barriers that exist within the organization.
2. Management Plan Recommendations: For this section of the summative assessment, you will make recommendations for the management improvement plan.
   1. Describe how implementing the fundamental principles of management will help to improve the management process within the company. Consider the factors that interfere with or prohibit effective management.
   2. Identify how aspects of the fundamental principles of management will be implemented and communicated to all personnel within the company. Consider this from a training standpoint.
   3. Describe how the application of the fundamental principles of management will lead to increased employee performance. Consider what needs to be improved the most to help increase employee performance.
   4. Explain how applying ethical principles to the fundamental principles of management would be sustained and monitored by the company. Consider using the rational decision-making model to show how this process can help ensure long-term success.
3. Conclusion: For this section of the summative assessment, you will provide a summary of your recommended changes to the management improvement plan using examples revolving around the fundamental principles of management.
   1. Summarize how these management changes, based on the fundamental principles of management, will help to ensure organizational success. Include examples of how these changes will have the most direct impact.

Milestones

Milestone One: Profile of a Struggling Company
In Module Six, you will submit a 1- to 2-page document that will provide a profile of your chosen struggling company. This milestone will serve as a rough draft and must cover the three critical elements in Part I of Final Project Two. You are expected to provide a minimum of 2 to 3 paragraphs for each of the three critical elements, which include management planning, employees’ perception and organizational culture, and communication. This milestone will be graded with the Final Project Two Milestone One Rubric.

Final Submission: Management Improvement Plan for a Struggling Company
In Module Eight, you will submit Final Project Two. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Two Rubric.

What to Submit

Final Project Two must be 3 to 4 pages in length (plus a cover page and references) with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and APA formatting. Include at least two references cited in APA format.

Final Project Two Rubric

Criteria	Exemplary (100%)	Proficient (85%)	Needs Improvement (55%)	Not Evident (0%)	Value
Profile: Management Planning	Meets “Proficient” criteria and details are justified by the fundamental principles of management	Assesses how the management planning practices interfere with or prohibit the organization’s ability to optimally function	Assesses how the management planning practices interfere with or prohibit the organization’s ability to optimally function but details are inaccurate or cursory	Does not assess how the management planning practices interfere with or prohibit the organization’s ability to optimally function	12
Profile: Employees’ Perception and Culture	Meets “Proficient” criteria and details show a keen insight into the connections between management and culture	Describes how the employees’ perception and organizational culture have been impacted by management’s performance	Describes how the employees’ perception and organizational culture have been impacted by management’s performance but details are inaccurate or cursory	Does not describe how the employees’ perception and organizational culture have been impacted by management’s performance	12
Profile: Communication	Meets “Proficient” criteria and details show a keen awareness of the communication barriers that exist within the organization	Explains how communication has played a part in management’s inability to increase employee performance	Explains how communication has played a part in management’s inability to increase employee performance but details lack relevance or are cursory	Does not explain how communication has played a part in management’s inability to increase employee performance	12
Management Plan Recommendations: Management Process	Meets “Proficient” criteria and details address the factors that interfere with or prohibit effective management	Describes how implementing the fundamental principles of management will help to improve the management process within the company	Describes how implementing the fundamental principles of management will help to improve the management process within the company but some details are inaccurate or cursory	Does not describe how implementing the fundamental principles of management will help to improve the management process within the company	12
Management Plan Recommendations: Implemented and Communicated	Meets “Proficient” criteria and details include insight into how any necessary training will be executed throughout the company	Identifies how aspects the fundamental principles of management will be implemented and communicated to all personnel within the company	Identifies how aspects of the fundamental principles of management will be implemented and communicated to all personnel within the company but details are inaccurate or cursory	Does not identify how aspects of the fundamental principles of management will be implemented and communicated to all personnel within the company	12
Management Plan Recommendations: Increased Employee Performance	Meets “Proficient” criteria and includes insight into what needs to be improved the most to help employee performance	Describes how the application of the fundamental principles of management will lead to increased employee performance	Describes how the application of the fundamental principles of management will lead to increased employee performance but details are inaccurate or cursory	Does not describe how the application of the fundamental principles of management will lead to increased employee performance	12
Management Plan Recommendations: Sustained and Monitored	Meets “Proficient” criteria and includes the rational decision-making model to show how this process can help with ensuring long-term success	Explains how applying ethical principles to the fundamental principles of management would be sustained and monitored by the company	Explains how applying ethical principles to the fundamental principles of management would be sustained and monitored by the company but details lack relevance or are cursory	Does not explain how applying ethical principles to the fundamental principles of management would be sustained and monitored by the company	12
Conclusion: Organizational Culture	Meets “Proficient” criteria and details show a keen insight into the connection between the fundamental principles of management and organizational success	Summarizes how these management changes, based on the fundamental principles of management, will help ensure organizational success, including examples of how these changes will have the most direct impact	Summarizes how these management changes, based on the fundamental principles of management, will help to ensure organizational success but details either lack how these changes will have the most direct impact or are cursory	Does not summarize how these management changes, based on the fundamental principles of management, will help to ensure organizational success	12
Articulation of Response	Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read format	Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization	Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas	Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas	4
Total:					100%