Assessment 1
Assessment Instructions
Create an 8–10 page staff augmentation plan.
Note: The assessments in this course build upon each other.
They should be completed in sequence.
Preparation
Read the following scenario. It will be used as a basis for
this and other assessments in the course.
Search the Internet and the Capella Library for current
(within three years) professional or trade magazines and reputable business
publications for information on staff augmentation.
Scenario
Galaxy Center Solutions (Galaxy) is a North Dakota-based
call center services company with 200 employees. It offers customer care
solutions for clients seeking phone support for their products or services.
North Dakota was chosen as the original location for the call center 10 years
ago for its relatively educated and inexpensive work force.
The company has recently signed a new contract with a large
firm that will require 100 additional call center operators. This effectively
doubles the current staff, who are assigned to established clients.
Galaxy will be providing 24/7 customer support.
The services contract commences in 120 days, at which time
you must be fully staffed.
Call center operator training takes approximately three
weeks.
Your job as the director of operations is to create a
staffing plan that focuses on the particulars of rapid placement. The duration
of the project is 120 days. It commences immediately and ends when the last
employee starts his or her assignment.
Deliverable
Create a plan to address the staffing needs for serving the
new customer. At minimum, include the following:
Develop a hiring plan. Consider the following items and any
others that you believe are relevant:
Human resource needs (numbers needed as well as the skills,
knowledge, and abilities required for positions).
Attracting or sourcing talent.
Applicant evaluation process.
Vetting.
Compensation.
Develop an onboarding plan for new employees.
Discuss areas that are anticipated to be the greatest
challenge to the plan and how you would address those challenges.
Develop a project schedule. Use Microsoft Project or similar
scheduling program to create the schedule. Include:
Tasks—the level of detail should be down to the third level.
For example: hiring to onboarding to training.
Milestones, delivery dates, and durations.
A list of required resources for deliverables where
appropriate. Resources can include documentation or human resources needed to
complete the project.
The critical path. In other words, identify parts of the
project may be more time consuming and possibly place the project at risk.
Provide a 1–2 page narrative to accompany your schedule that
describes and justifies your projections.
Additional Requirements
Written communication: Written communication is free of
errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Use current APA style and formatting
guidelines.
Length: 8–10 pages, plus the project schedule.
References: Include at least five citations from
professional sources.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Assessment 2
Preparation
Read the following scenario. It should be used as a basis
for this assessment.
Search the Internet and the Capella Library for current
(within three years) professional or trade magazines and reputable business
publications for information on the global call center resourcing market.
Scenario
A recent shift in the local labor market has increased the
competition for attracting and retaining talent. This shift is expected to
significantly increase operating costs for Galaxy over the next 6–12 months and
beyond. This is considered to be a permanent shift in supply.
The company leadership has decided to explore the option of
outsourcing some of its operations to an overseas location. The hope is that
this move will allow the company to maintain service quality at current levels
at a decreased cost. Initial research has narrowed the list of possible host
locations to India and the Philippines.
Your CEO has asked you to evaluate the two options. You will
need to devise the measuring criteria, gather pertinent information, and make a
recommendation. Ultimately, the plan is to outsource to a subcontractor in one
of these countries. Your evaluation should consider all reasonable aspects
(such as compensation, regulations, training, travel, accents, specialization,
security, vendor costs, time required to set up operations, et cetera) of opening
a complete, self-sustaining operation in each of these locations.
Deliverable
Complete a site selection evaluation based upon criteria of
your choosing that considers current economic conditions. Do the following:
Create a site selection criteria matrix. Choose a minimum of
15 criteria against which each location will be measured. Assign each a weight
so that the total for all is 100. Write a 2-page document justifying the
criteria you have chosen.
Fill in the matrix using information and data that you have
gathered during your research. Keep in mind that you are trying to make a
decision based upon macro-level data. For instance, you should compare travel
costs to each location relative to one another (one generally is 20% less than
the other), but not calculate actual dollar cost of travel. Make sure to
include citations where appropriate.
Make a 5–7 page site recommendation based upon the data and
information that you have accrued. Include a complete analysis of your
recommendation and an assessment of how regulatory requirements in each
location (as well as those that govern U.S. companies doing business in those
locations) might impact the choice of where to set up operations.
Include an executive summary.
Additional Requirements
Written communication: Written communication is free of
errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Use current APA style and formatting
guidelines.
References: Include at least five citations from
professional sources.
Length: 8–10 pages.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Assessment 3
ssessment Instructions
Preparation
Read the following scenario. It will be used as a basis for
this assessment.
Search the Internet and the Capella Library for current
(within three years) professional or trade magazines and reputable business
publications for information on global call center operations.
Scenario
Galaxy Center Solutions’ executive committee has considered
your recommendation for relocation, as well as many other factors, and has made
the decision to contract with a call center based in Bangalore, India. It will
be a one-stop solution for all of Galaxy’s needs to accommodate the new client
that requires 100 operators on a 24/7 basis.
Your job is twofold:
Present an evaluation plan for vendor selection to the
executive committee.
Create a plan for initiating operations for this project
with a vendor that will be chosen later.
Deliverable
Complete each of the following:
Develop an evaluation plan for vendor selection. Use
PowerPoint to create an 8–10 slide presentation of the plan. Be sure to use the
speaker notes area for describing complex topics or concepts.
Create a plan for initiating vendor operations. Minimally,
it should Include:
A timeline of activities required to complete vendor
preparation. It should start at contract completion and end with the
commencement of call center activities.
Training requirements. This should include training of
Galaxy personnel by the client on the specifics of their product as well as
training of vendor staff by Galaxy personnel.
A communications plan. Include:
How and when the project status will be communicated to
Galaxy stakeholders.
A description of communication channels and procedures that
will be used among stakeholders when operations commence.
It is anticipated that eventually, most if not all of the
call center operations will eventually be moved to India. Examine the moral or
ethical obligations that the company might have to its domestic employees.
Document any assumptions you make.
Additional Requirements
Written communication: Written communication is free of
errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Use current APA style and formatting
guidelines.
Length:
Slide presentation: 8–10 slides (include detailed speaker’s
notes).
Operations plan and ethical plan examination: 4–6 pages.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Assessment 4
Scenario
Galaxy Center Solutions is preparing to negotiate a contract
with a company called Global Call Centers (GCC) located in Bangalore. GCC’s
principals are Indian.
Deliverable
Do the following:
Analyze the appropriateness of the following types of
service agreements, and recommend one to use.
Memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Service level agreement or master contract for use with GCC.
GCC has sent you its boilerplate agreement that has been
tailored to the specifics of this engagement. It differs significantly from the
ones you have used with your clients, so you feel that there are items in it
that need to be negotiated. Analyze strategies or steps that you would take in
negotiating a change to your preferred service agreement.
Create a 2-page brief for your in-house legal advisor
describing five elements of a service agreement that are operationally
important to Galaxy. State why you believe they are important.
Discuss how you would you prepare to negotiate a contract
with an Indian company. What cultural aspects might you need to consider?
Explain.
Outline how preparations or considerations for executing an
international contract differ from executing a domestic contract.
You have discovered during your contract negotiations that
for the purposes of this engagement, GCC workers will have to work 12 hours per
day. Galaxy has a mandate that says domestic employees work only eight hours
per day. Galaxy is committed in its culture to assure a work and life balance.
Evaluate whether this presents a dilemma for Galaxy.
Additional Requirements
Written communication: Written communication is free of
errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Use current APA style and formatting
guidelines.
Length: 1–2 pages per item.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Assessment 5
Preparation
Review the following items found in the Resources:
Risk Management Plan Example.
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®
Guide)—Fifth Edition.
Scenario
The contract with Global Call Centers has been completed and
approved. This is a big change in the company’s way of doing business, and it
is happening too quickly for the comfort of some. You have been tasked with
creating a risk management plan for staffing of this expansion. It should
identify reasonable risks associated with the outsourcing as well as ways to
mitigate them.
Deliverable
Draft the risk management plan for the engagement of Global
Call Centers. Do the following:
Describe and justify the risk management methodology to be
used. Also, consider the risk probability and impact identification
methodologies.
Describe the roles and responsibilities for the risk
management plan.
Describe areas of risk (risk categories). Include an
analysis of regulatory requirement risks.
Outline and assess mitigation plans for three areas of risk.
Identify how risks will be tracked.
Additional Requirements
Written communication: Written communication is free of
errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Use current APA style and formatting
guidelines.
Length: 6–8 pages.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.
