How does EVM operationalize or put into practice the management of trade-offs implied by the triple constraint discussed since the beginning of the course?

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Respond to the following questions: How does EVM operationalize or put into practice the management of trade-offs implied by the triple constraint discussed since the beginning of the course?

Does it allow a balanced appraisal of all three parameters? Why or why not? EVM has become especially popular as a mandatory contractual reporting methodology between contractors and vendors in very large projects. But it has come under attack in some circles. What would the two sides of the argument be?

What structure will you use and implement? Explain how you will use departmentalization in your organizational structure.

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This assignment focuses on how the management practices of planning, leading, organizing, staffing, and controlling are implemented in your workplace. Using the Ashford University Library and other credible online resources, find three Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources
(Links to an external site.)
that provide information on Amazon.com’s business structure.

Here is the scenario and situation:
Assume you are an employee working in the Amazon warehouse, and you pack orders and categorize them into small, medium, and large batches. You are considered a packer. You have experience packing all sizes and have been with the organization for two years. You are considered one of their best employees, you have a solid reputation for being a hard worker, and all of your orders are packed correctly. You have also been busy; you recently completed Amazon’s management training program, and you have completed your BABA degree at the Forbes School of Business and Technology at Ashford University.

Congratulations: You have just been promoted to manager. You will be relocated to a new plant that is two hours away that employs 100 employees. You will oversee a team of 10 supervisors and 90 packers and will now oversee the entire warehouse operation. How will you work to use and apply the five functions of management?

Now let’s apply the five functions. In your paper, include the following sections:
Planning: Examine the specific areas you will choose to manage that fall under the planning function.
For example, what might be some of the things you will plan to do and implement to build an effective team and culture? People are the most important resource in any business, what do you plan to do to build a positive team culture? What processes and systems do you plan to use?
Organizing: Assess if the present structure that Amazon has set up is working.
Do you need to make or suggest any changes to make it more efficient and effective? What structure will you use and implement? Explain how you will use departmentalization in your organizational structure.
Staffing: Analyze your staffing needs.
How do you intend to staff your organization and replace members that leave or are promoted? How does the HR process apply? What things (if any) will you suggest?
Leading: Justify the leadership theory and style you will follow to ensure efficiency.
Will you use transformational or transactional leadership? Why or why not?
Controls: Identify what controls and measures you will implement.
How will you apply the four steps of control (these are in Chapter 7; i.e., establishing standards, measuring performance, comparing performance, and making decisions)?

What was your score on The Conscientiousness Quiz in the text? Does you score suggest that you will live at least 100 years?

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Conscientiousness and optimism are covered in the text. Moreover, the trait of friendliness can be inferred from the discussion of good interpersonal skills in Chapter 1.

In a three-page paper, address the following four questions. Follow APA format, and use each question for a section heading.

What was your score on The Conscientiousness Quiz in the text? Does you score suggest that you will live at least 100 years?
Why would a person with a high degree of optimism make a better manager, sales representative, or coworker?
Why would a conscientious person live longer, as well as performing better on the job?
Imagine that you are the HR director at a large company. Why would it help the company to hire many employees who are optimistic, friendly, and conscientious?

Identify the issues for each company featured in the article. What do they have in common? What is different?

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Identify the issues for each company featured in the article. What do they have in common? What is different? Provide solutions for each company and explain your decisions in detail. Use sources – you may want to research each company’s website to gain more insight!

As always, follow APA guidelines. Minimum word count: 700 – write in full sentences! Include a cover page and a reference page (not included in total word count).

Who might be attracted to the brand they present? Does it speak to a particular generation or a value that may be important to an applicant?

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Select 3 companies to research; a for-profit, non-profit and government entity. Your goal is to study their Talent Acquisition process and identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. As part of your analysis, think about the following: This is a contrast and compare assignment.Since you are looking at 3 separate organizations, you may consider using a table to summarize your information, since there are multiple questions. Below is a generic table. Tables are a great way to summarize a lot of information in a clear and understandable format.

Review their website, what is their brand or image? Who might be attracted to the brand they present? Does it speak to a particular generation or a value that may be important to an applicant? How do they use social media, industry websites, etc? Where are they visible and where are they invisible? Do they use an on-line application or paper application process? How easy is it for applicants to apply? If possible, interview a manager in at least one of the three types of companies company to learn their perspective of the interview process. Also inquire if they conduct background checks and how they make the selection decision – does a committee decide or the hiring manager?

How does that compare with the current personal tax system and what is the impact on lower and higher income households?

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ALL Responses primarily should be anchored in Mikesell’s “Fiscal Administration”
Question below:
3. You are the Budget Officer of a large town and you just informed the Town Manager that forecasted revenues are down 6.9 percent below the 9.1 million for the first six months of the budget year. The town manager has asked for a plan that includes strategies to close the budget gap. What strategies would you recommend? (1 page)

4. Describe the budget process for federal, state and local budgets and highlight the major differences. (1 page)
7. Does your state include performance measures in its budget document? If yes, choose one department’s performance measures and evaluate its validity. If you were to develop a performance measure for this department, what measures would you use? If no performance measures are provided in your state’s budget, develop three performance measures for a state department of your choice and explain why you choose them. (Hint: for an overview of the performance measures, you can re-read Chapter 6 in the Mikesell. Your state budget office website will be a resource to answer this question.) (1page)
9. Consider replacing the current US tax system with a proportional tax in which everyone would pay a constant fraction of their wages, and there would be no other taxes. How does that compare with the current personal tax system and what is the impact on lower and higher income households? (1 page)
10. In Texas, there are some large deposits of water containing dissolved methane (fossil fuel). It is possible to pump this water out of the ground and release the methane, which can then be sold. This process produces lots of poisonous wastewater, which is being dumped into nearby streams, which then flow onto the land of downstream ranches, severely damaging the land. Discuss this problem using the tools of public finance and propose solutions (financial and property) to mitigate the problem. (1Page )

Explain why the format for capturing requirements is important to the overall success of the project. Why would we consider requirements’ traceability?

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Prompt: The goal of this milestone is to delve more deeply into the project planning and project execution areas of project management. As mentioned above,
you are to use the ECO-Trans case study (in MindEdge) to complete this milestone.
Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed:
II. Project Planning
A. Determine the business requirements for the successful development of the project. Justify your choices.
B. Establish who will provide the business requirements. What approach will be used to solicit the requirements from the subject matter experts?
C. Categorize and organize the business requirements in a standard requirements template.
D. Explain why the format for capturing requirements is important to the overall success of the project. Why would we consider requirements’ traceability?
E. Leveraging the business requirements, translate these requirements into a project schedule using project management software through the provided template.
F. Estimate the duration of project tasks using common business knowledge, and assign resources to complete each task.
G. Refine your estimate of the project cost based on the duration of tasks and resources needed.
III. Project Execution
A. Determine the best implementation approach—agile or waterfall project—for the organization based on its organizational structure. Provide examples to support your rationale.
B. Explain how the project schedule can be resource leveled, fast-tracked, or crashed if needed based upon execution results.
C. Propose communication approaches and the frequency that should be used to keep leadership apprised of the project execution. Include
examples to support your claims.

Evaluate the Creation and Discovery contexts of entrepreneurial opportunities. Explain/define opportunity creation and opportunity discovery.

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In its broad conceptualization, entrepreneurship involves the nexus of two phenomenon; (1) sources of opportunities and (2) the presence of enterprising individuals who evaluate and exploit these opportunities. With these descriptions of entrepreneurship in mind;
Question 1a. Evaluate the Creation and Discovery contexts of entrepreneurial opportunities. As part of your evaluation, discuss any three (3) firm-level capabilities/strategies that can be used in the effective exploitation of opportunities. [hint: firm-level capabilities may include; marketing/market orientation, collaborations/alliance formation, networking, technological etc]. (Suggested word count: 1000)

Question 1b. Consider the five (5) dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (see, Lumpkin and Dess, 1996). Reflect on the extent to which your attitudes and behaviours are consistent with any three (3) of these dimensions. (Suggested word count: 500)

Please i would like the questions above to be answered in this format below:
Question 1a; Evaluate the Creation and Discovery contexts of entrepreneurial opportunities. (Suggested word count: 1000)
Explain/define entrepreneurial opportunities
Explain/define opportunity creation and opportunity discovery
Discuss the similarities between opportunity creation and opportunity discovery
e.g. both creation and discovery arise from competitive market imperfections (you can give examples of market imperfections); both creation and discovery undergo evaluation and exploitation process; creation and discovery may have similar dimensions and drivers when developing the opportunity business model etc (you can give examples of these dimensions and drivers)
Discuss the differences between opportunity creation and discovery e.g.
Subjective (creation) versus objective (discovery);
endogenous (creation) versus exogenous(discovery);
depends on the actions and reactions of entrepreneurs(creation) versus independent of the actions of entrepreneurs(discovery);
uncertainty(creation) versus risk(discovery) , etc.
Question 1a Contd.; As part of your evaluation, discuss any three (3) firm-level capabilities/strategies that can be used in the effective exploitation of opportunities. [hint: firm-level capabilities may include; marketing/market orientation, collaborations/alliance formation, networking, technological etc].
Explain opportunity exploitation.
Consider the various forms of opportunity exploitation in your explanation. E.g., registering a business, marketing products/services, testing products, advertising, licensing, customer acquisitions, acquiring other business partners, among others.
Among many others, consider the following entrepreneurial actions/strategies; networking, entrepreneurial marketing/market orientation, legitimacy, customer engagement, alliance formation.
Discuss how any three of these strategies can aid entrepreneurs/firms to effectively exploit opportunities (do not forget how opportunity exploitation is broadly defined).
Question 1b. Consider the five (5) dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (see, Lumpkin and Dess, 1996). Reflect on the extent to which your attitudes and behaviours are consistent with any three (3) of these dimensions. (Suggested word count: 500)
Brief introduction of the five dimensions of EO (autonomy, innovation, risk-taking, proactiveness and competitive aggressiveness)
Select any three of the dimensions and reflect on them. Use of personal examples (e.g. school, work, job search, current and /or previous employment positions) in the reflective writing.

How can the company improve its learning and development to reduce the number of guest complaints and to improve staff morale?

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Learning outcomes

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the key theories and models associated with HRM
2. Understand and evaluate the application of activities and practices involved in people management within organisations
3. Analyse the role of line managers and HR professionals in the application and deployment of Human Resource Management tools and practices.

 

CASE STUDY – Trent Park

Trent Park is a luxury conference and leisure park in central England with 125 en-suite bedrooms, of a 4 star standard, and 50 well-appointed self-catering chalets which each accommodate up to 6 people. The centre has 2 golf courses, a wide range of sports facilities, health/beauty treatments, and extensive recreational facilities.

Trent Park employs various Section Managers for Catering, Site Facilities, Retail Outlets, Security, Grounds & Gardening, Health and Beauty, and Sports’ facilities. Each section Manager controls a staffing brigade of supervisors and operatives. The total number of staff employed at the Trent Park, both full and part-time, is around 230. The Park is open 7 days a week; 52 weeks of the year.

Trent Park is traditionally managed with strong demarcation between the different departments of food and drink, accommodation, leisure and administration (to include Accounts and HR). Trent Park’s local population has a large ethnic population and there is a diverse range of different cultural backgrounds amongst both visitors to Trent Park and the staff who work there. The staff at Trent Park are demotivated and gossip is rife, as is professional jealousy, particularly in terms of professional development. There is a lack of career advancement and outsiders are brought in instead of promoting existing staff.

An independent inspection found that there are problems with the general human resource management and equality issues at Trent Park. The inspection report highlighted the following problems amongst the staff:

  • There is a general feeling from the staff that the management does not motivate them and, instead, regards them as a cheap and available source of labour.
  • Certain ethnic groups form together and do not integrate with the other staff, which causes a lack of cohesion and communication between the staff.
  • Several staff complain that the ‘soft skills’ in the work place are limited and they do not feel they receive sufficient support at work from management. Many of the staff live in deprived areas, so consequently they would benefit from stronger work-place engagement.

Learning and development

Most of the Section Managers at Trent Park have attended college courses but the operative staff are mostly untrained. Due to a strict hierarchical management approach, communication is not good between the various departments. This factor is evident amongst the attitudes and behaviour of the staff towards each other; also, there is a high staff turnover at Trent Park.

There is a lack of career advancement and outsiders are brought in instead of promoting existing staff. The centre requires a lot of financial investment to upgrade its facilities, to make it comparable with other successful luxury conference and leisure resorts. The newly appointed general manager, John Smith, was under pressure both to prove himself and to restore the declining Trent Park into a profitable operation. Taylor classified jobs according to skill levels and the amount of training required to reach competence. The lowest level was classified as ‘straight off the street’, implying that little or no skill was needed, and training was minimal to bring the jobholder to full competence. Consequently, staff motivation and productivity is low and the centre receives many complaints from guests and visitors about poor service.

Employee relations

Besides high staff turnover, there is a general feeling of conflict between staff and management. Staff feel they cannot approach management with problems so, instead, they tend to discuss issues between each other which causes general unrest within Trent Park. There is no official system for raising grievances or where staff can feedback their ideas and suggestions to management. Consequently, communication with management and staff engagement are poor. Taylor was keen to introduce a method of job evaluation to try to establish flexible working styles, like those used in other more successful leisure parks. He felt that not only would this move improve efficiency levels, but that job rotation would increase job satisfaction and communication and consequently improve morale amongst staff and reduce the high employee turnover.

Unfortunately, Taylor decided not to discuss this with the existing workforce and when the new systems were introduced the staff were negative and unsupportive. there was general staff resistance to cooperate with Taylor’s plans.

Many of the staff demanded a meeting with Taylor to which he agreed because he saw it as the opportunity to communicate and assure them that his plans were for the best interests of both staff and Trent Park. However, the meeting was a disaster as staff accused him of not communicating his ideas earlier and failing to provide ‘good management’.

Performance and reward

Regular staff appraisals do not take place and often the only times when a section manager meets with staff are for a disciplinary meeting. Staff do not feel valued; most are paid the minimum wage without any other benefits or rewards. Staff are not allowed to use any of the leisure facilities at Trent Park and frequently many leave to work in the surrounding town areas where conditions are better.

There are public buses from the surrounding towns to Trent Park, but these run infrequently and the operating times do not coincide with the main shift patterns at work. The buses are unreliable so that staff who use them frequently arrive late for work. Trent Park finds it difficult to attract staff to work at the resort, and the existing staff do not seem keen to refer local friends and family to work there. Many of the staff are unproductive and lazy, and this does not appear to be addressed by their line managers which causes further rifts between staff.

Absence and well being

As well as high staff turnover, absenteeism is high and frequently many staff are on sick leave which puts extra pressures on those who are on duty. There is not a proper system for monitoring and dealing with absence. Many staff appear to experience high stress levels from the overall difficulties and problems at Trent Park. Fatigue and stress are the main reported reasons for staff sickness. The general low levels of staff motivation cause underperformance – often, staff will not ‘go the extra mile’ for guests. The resort has good leisure facilities and is a major employer in the area, so it is disappointing that these problems exist. Following the inspection report, Taylor is keen to tackle this area and is keen for suggestions. To help introduce a flexible approach, Taylor planned to change staff uniforms, so staff could work in a variety of jobs during the working day.  Name badges would be changed to first names, instead of surnames to promote democracy and engender feelings of equality. All staff were to be encouraged to take their meal breaks in the staff restaurant – previously they stayed within their own department where they had little social interaction with each other.

As in real life, anomalies may be found in this case study; if in doubt simply state your assumptions based on your understanding of the information given. This is a fictional case study so please do not make assumptions based on any company that may have a similar description or name.

Task

Please answer each in report format each of the 4 numbered questions below. Please answer all 4 questions separately and number each question clearly (Questions 1 – 4).

  1. How can the company improve its learning and development to reduce the number of guest complaints and to improve staff morale?
  2. What measures can the company take to improve its employee relations to increase staff satisfaction, and reduce absenteeism and staff turnover?
  3. What can the company do to give its employees a more attractive performance and reward package?
  4. How can the company tackle absence and well-being amongst staff members?

In presenting your report, please consider realistic and practical recommendation that an organization that Trent Park would be likely to use in a real-life setting. You must support your recommendations with HR theories; analysis; discussion; best HR practice; and academic references – please use the full Harvard referencing system.

Please answer each question in report format. You do not need to write an executive summary, introduction and conclusion – instead, you should only answer the 4 questions.

Word count = 1,500 words (+ or – 10%)

Please remember the assessment criteria for this assignment are:

  • Analyse a case study effectively identifying the key issues
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how to use theories and concepts in a practical setting
  • Produce clear, realistic and practical recommendations that an organisation could use in a real-life setting
  • Communicate effectively to produce a structured and coherent business report, with appropriate referencing

What was the dispute about?  Provide background information to the factors that precipitated the dispute if necessary and explain how the dispute unfolded.

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Subject: Employment Relations

Case Study Instructions

Imagine you are working at the FairWork Commission in the office of the President, Justice Iain Ross AO.  Justice Ross has asked you to conduct an analysis of one key industrial dispute that has shaped Australian Employment Relations.  Your analysis will form the basis of a lecture he is giving a LaTrobe University in three months time.

Justice Ross has asked you to select one of the following workplace disputes:

  • The Qantas lockout of employees in 2011
  • The 1989 Pilot’s strike
  • The 1986 50 day Victorian Nurses strike
  • 1998 Australian Waterfront dispute
  • The CFMEU-Grocon dispute
  • Or another industrial dispute (approved by Dr Nicola McNeil)

You should undertake research from academic journals, books, industry sources and the media about your chosen dispute and write a Report which addresses the following issues and questions:

  1. What was the dispute about?  Provide background information to the factors that precipitated the dispute if necessary and explain how the dispute unfolded;
  2. Did any external business environment factors contribute to the dispute between the parties?  If so, explain the relationship between these factors and the dispute.
  3. Analyse the dispute from the point of view of each relevant stakeholders or actors in the dispute (such as the employer, employees, unions, employer associations and State and Federal Governments).  Consider the goals of each stakeholder in the dispute, and the industrial strategies or tactics used to forward their claim.
  4. How was the dispute resolved?
  5. Do you think the dispute was resolved effectively?  Consider the implications of this dispute on Employment Relations in Australia.

Make sure you cite and correctly reference your sources, using the Academy of Management referencing style.

Also, ensure that you understand the difference between quoting and paraphrasing.  For help with paraphrasing, see the Purdue Online Writing Lab.