It’s been a great first week shadowing Emma at CM Tech.  You have learned about actions management can take that lead to poor performance. You’ve read about significant developments in the history of management and how well they did or did not work at CM Tech, and even contemplated what the next big thing might be.  Emma wants to be sure you fully understand all that you have learned and have a solid baseline of information for use in the new concepts you will be learning going forward.  Thus, she has asked you to assemble a report that analyzes what you have learned so far.  

Your report should include the following: 

1. What actions can management take to ensure poor performance?  Support your assertions with examples and research.
2. What is performance management and what has prompted such a keen interest in it? 
3. What are some of the most significant management breakthroughs in history?  Share your experiences with at least three of them.  If you haven’t experienced any element of the breakthrough items then share how they might have applied at CM Tech had you worked there.
4. Explain how you and Emma can apply all of this information at CM Tech.  How can all of your past experiences, knowledge of performance management, and of significant management breakthroughs to guide CM Tech strategy and future success?  Support your assertions with examples and research.

Your report should outline the key concepts in each area listed above and provide examples as appropriate.  Be sure your report is a minimum of 4 to 5 pages, includes an introduction and conclusion paragraph, title page, and references page.  The title and references pages do not count toward the total page count.  

The report should be formatted in APA style and be supported by a minimum of three scholarly references. Since CM Tech is a fictitious company, you may use great liberty in this assignment in creating or imagining the details needed in order to write your report.  

• Read the Week 1 lecture which introduces us to Emma and CM Tech.  Also read Chapter 1 of our text which introduces you to all the things NOT to do.  The chapter is only 2 pages long and provides a lot of great insights into our topics.  Remember, you will be shadowing our fictitious manager, Emma, for the next 8 weeks in our course.  Emma has asked you to think about your past experiences and consider what your current or previous employers did that brought out poor performance from you or your coworkers.  Her goal is to discuss with you what didn’t work very well so you can both look to the future, helping ensure the team chooses a successful path without repeating past mistakes.  

In your initial discussion post share with your classmates your experiences as Emma requested.  In your responses to your peers expand on similar experiences you may have had or share experiences you’ve had that would have worked well to avoid the poor performance issues in their examples.  

Look at the Conceptual Model of HR.  Choose one area you find interesting.  Based on your own experiences and readings, what would you like to see happen in that area?  For instance, in Total Rewards/Compensation, maybe you’d like to have paid family medical leave.  In performance management, perhaps you would like to have a particular type of appraisal process.  Or, if you’re looking at employee relations, maybe you’d like to adopt a teleworking policy at an organization.  Maybe you see a change in the labor pool, law, or technology that will impact your chosen HR area and you want to address how such change will be incorporated. 

Once you’ve identified a specific area to explore, ask:  If I had to propose this idea to executive management, how could I address the pro vs. con questions:

–How might it impact a hypothetical organization’s strategic direction and operations? Why would an organization want or not want to do this?

–How might it impact employees? Why would employees want or not want this?

–What impact would it have on other parts of the HR system?  Would other dimensions of HR need to change in order for my proposal to work?  What support might be needed from the other HR areas?  For instance, would we have to pay more, revise job descriptions, train staff, or lay-off people? 

–How would we measure whether my proposed idea succeeded?  

–What are real organizations doing about this?  Give at least one specific, referenced example.

When answering the content questions, be sure:

____ The work is original. Remember that you may not submit work that was created for any other class, including a previous semester of HRMD 610. This was part of the Academic Integrity Pledge you signed at the beginning of the term. The professor reserves the right to submit student papers to determine the originality percentage at his or her discretion. A good rule of thumb is that no more than 20% of a paper should be from direct quotes.

_____ The content is substantial and represents a significant literature review. In other words, the material extends substantially beyond the course readings. The issues discussed are key facets of the topic.

_____ Most of the references represent scholarly sources. Plan to use 8-12 sources for the paper. (Use UMGC’s library. The librarians are very helpful.)

_____ Since they are not vetted, commercial websites (.com) are not used unless the reason is to report the organization’s own policies or strategies as an example to illustrate a point.

_____ Because the HRM field has been changing rapidly in the last few decades, sources published prior to 2009 should be avoided, except when some brief history of the topic is necessary.

_____Points are well supported with logic, data, and/or examples.

_____Conclusions demonstrate integrative, critical thinking.

Presentation (15% of the assignment value)

_____The introduction tells the reader the purpose of the research and the agenda for the paper. (Do NOT use an abstract.)

_____ Special terms are defined.

_____Points are logically sequenced; the paper is well-organized.

_____The summary recaps the key points and provides psychological closure to the discussion.

_____Technical aspects of writing (i.e., grammar, sentence structure, and spelling) are correct.

_____Academic style (i.e., appropriate diction, clarity, smooth transitions, and an audience-oriented approach) is demonstrated. Note: This is a research paper, thus please do not:

o  Write in the 1st or 2nd person (I, me, my, we, us, you, your, our, etc.)

o  Share personal stories or workplace situations

o  Express your beliefs, feelings, or opinions on the subject

_____The body of the paper is 8 double-spaced pages. 

_____ A maximum of one bulleted list is used, if needed.

_____Citations are given for non-original material, using APA format for the in-text citation as well as the reference list.

Administrative Preparation

_____The paper is posted by the deadline in the proper place, using a Word file format. Per the syllabus, a grade penalty can apply if the document is late.

_____ An abstract page is not used.

_____Headers and footers are not used. (They can make it difficult to provide feedback.)

_____A 12-point font is used, and margins are reasonable.

_____Pages are numbered.

_____ The title page, the body, and the reference listing are not followed by any other appendices.

Choose a publicly traded company by searching the Hoover’s Company Profile database in the library or the Yahoo Finance website. Conduct research on the company website and using library resources. Provide a brief synopsis about the company, the industry sector in which it operates, products, and target market.