Instructions
Project One Role of the Leader
Purpose:
In the first assignment, students are given a scenario about
Global Delivery Direct (GDD), a Norfolk, England medium-sized global delivery
company that was started in 1968 by four college friends. In this project, students will demonstrate an
understanding of the broad role of a leader within an organization.
Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment
develop and implement methods for establishing a
constructive organizational structure and culture that fosters positive
employee and employer relationships
evaluate the culture and policies of an organization to
recommend and implement improvements that support its vision, success, and
sustainability
assess the interactions between the external environment and
the organization to foster responsible and effective leadership and
organizational practices
In Part One students will explain the executive leader’s
role in creating an organizational structure and learn to distinguish the
different organizational structures and how decision making plays a role in the
organizational structure. Students gain
an understanding of the challenges related to organizational structure and
organizational culture that a leader faces when merging two companies to create
a competitive advantage.
In Part Two students have the opportunity to research the
merger of two well-known companies with the goal of assessing what happens when
two very different organizational cultures are joined as one. Taking what is learned from the merger,
students apply concepts and ideas to Global Delivery Direct (GDD).
Instructions
Step 1: Review “How
to Analyze a Case Study” under Week 4 Content.
Step 2: Create a Word
or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced, 12-point font. The final product will be between 4-6 pages
in length excluding the title page and reference page.
Step 3: Review the
grading rubric for the assignment.
Step 4: In addition
to providing an introduction, students will use headings following this format:
Title page with title, your name, the course, the
instructor’s name;
Background;
Part One;
Part Two.
Step 5: In writing a
case study, the writing is in the third person.
What this means is that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or
us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second person
writing). If uncertain how to write in
the third person, view this link:
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person. Also note that students are not to provide
personal commentary.
Step 6: In writing
this assignment, students are expected to support the reasoning using in-text
citations and a reference list. If any
material is used from a source document, it must be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot
exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. View the sample APA paper under Week 1
content.
Step 7: In writing
this assignment, students will use resources from the course material and no
more than 4 external source documents.
NOTE: The expectation is that
students provide a robust use of the course material. Students may use external resources to
address the research for FedEx and Kinko’s but other material should come from
the course readings.
Step 8: In completing
the assignment, students are expected to use the facts from the case study
paired with the weekly courses readings to develop the analysis. The case study is not cited or referenced.
Step 9: In writing this assignment, students are expected to
paraphrase and not use direct quotes.
Students are expected to paraphrase, which can be learned by reviewing
this link:
https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html
Step 11: Read and use
the Global Delivery Direct (GDD) Company Profile.
Step 12: Read
critically and analyze the following scenario:
Part One
Scenario:
Andrew Rockfish is looking for a competitive edge in the
North American market that will translate well to the other divisions. After talking to the other directors, they
have decided to focus on business only and stop their individual services. While they will lose 10% of their sales, this
change will allow the company to offer “boutique” services to its business
customers, thereby increasing prices.
Catering to business only will also allow them to provide personal
services that Fed Ex and UPS cannot offer.
It was decided that the initial roll out of this idea would start in the
US where the most imminent threat from competition lies. Rockfish was on board with this idea and
began a campaign among the rest of the company to find ideas that would help to
encourage the new ‘Business First” strategic plan.
In response, a sales manager from his mid-west sales team
brought this idea from their brainstorming session for his consideration. He proposed creating several mobile packing
stores to bring customer service to business directly. GDD would not just pick up and deliver but
they would package as well. This model could be viewed as an UPS store on
wheels. The team got the idea from a
local delivery service that started a similar business as a Mail Store on
Wheels and it seemed to be doing well.
This company has five “Mail on Wheels” trucks and focuses on taking
small business, not individuals away from the three local UPS and Kinko
stores. After a financial review of the
company, Rockfish decided to buy the business.
The business was started by a young entrepreneur, Adrian
Cheng, who ran the business with the philosophy that “customers always get the
best of our time and service”. Personal
service, friendliness, and as much time as it takes to make the customer happy,
was part of the mission statement.
Employees were casually dressed and had no deadlines except those given
by the customer. Cheng had about 45
employees and ran both day and evening shifts. He had one van which was on call
twenty-four/seven. Cheng oversaw the whole operation with two assistant
managers, one for the day shift and one for the evening.
Rockfish liked the idea that personnel had been trained in
giving personal service and had a boutique attitude when it came to
customers. He thought it was a perfect
fit as the new face of GDD. The merger of these two companies seemed ideal. He
decided to buy the existing business, expand it and have the new personnel
trained by the current personnel.
Part One: Below are a series of organizational structures
that exemplify the potential structure that Rockfish will consider in putting
the two companies together.
Explain the executive leader’s role in creating an
organizational structure, the purpose of a structure, and why the leader, not
the manager, is the best person to determine the organizational structure;
Identify each structure below and discuss the associated
decision making flow and the advantages and disadvantages associated with the
structure;
Select the structure from those below that best blends the
two companies (GDD and Mail on Wheels) and explain why the type of structure
best fits the purpose of the merger. Discussion should include the decision
making flow, the alignment of people to the selected structure and how the two
companies would interface to create a competitive advantage.
Model 1
Model 1
Model 2
Model 2
Model 3
Model 3
Model 4
Model 4
Model 5
Model 5
Model 6
Model 6
Model 7
Model 7
Model 8
Model 8
Part Two
Scenario:
Part Two: Rockfish
knows that in addition to a possible new structure, he will have to revisit the
company culture as well as that of the new business acquisition. Anxious to avoid the problems of Fed Ex and
Kinko, Rockfish decides to review their problems and the existing culture to
determine just how to go about blending the cultures and structures together.
Research the Fed Ex and Kinko merger. Identify the
organizational cultures of the two companies and the problems that resulted
from the attempt to blend the two cultures.
Explain how the problems that Fed Ex and Kinko faced might
parallel those for GDD’s merger. Be sure to include in the analysis the
existing cultures at GDD and Mail on Wheels as well as how the structure
relates to the culture.
Discuss how Rockfish can avoid the same mistakes as Fed Ex.
Step 13: Create the
introductory paragraph. Within this
paragraph, provide a brief overview of the scenario. Then, provide a thesis statement and tell the
reader the main topics covered in the paper.
The introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper but is
typically written after writing the body of the paper (Questions students
responded to above). View this website
to learn how to write an introductory paragraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html
Step 14: Respond to
the questions in Part One and Part Two following the format provided. Be clear and concise in the writing and make
sure the questions are comprehensively answered.
Step 15: Using the
grading rubric as a comparison, read through the paper to ensure all required
elements are presented.
Step 16: Proofread the paper for spelling and grammatical
issues, and third person writing.
Use the spell and grammar check in Word as a first measure;
Have someone who has excellent English skills to proof the
paper;
Consider submitting the paper to the Effective Writing
Center (EWC). The EWC will provide 4-6
areas that may need improvement.
Step 17:
Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.
