DIRECTIONS:

You will write an APA 7th Edition paper, 5-7 double-spaced pages in length, on someone of your choosing who is currently in an executive position or in a leadership role. They should be considered a C-Level (CEO, CIO, CFO, etc.) executive or in a prominent leadership position.  At a minimum this person needs to be responsible for a significant function in an organization and have supervisory responsibility over others.  The interview may be conducted on the phone, virtually, or in person (your methodology or mode of conducting the interview, must be documented in your paper).  This paper must include a minimum of five (5) peer-reviewed, refereed journal articles pertaining to your subject’s ethics. As a guideline, your paper should include:

1. DESCRIBE: A description of the subject’s ethical beliefs and practices. In two pages (approximately) you should address the following: What challenges have they encountered in the workplace that have shaped their views on ethics? How have they addressed those challenges (their ethical reasoning)?
2. ANALYZE: An analysis of the subject’s ethics.  How did he or she evolve their view of ethics?  

What ethical theories are expressed or implied in his or her discussion of ethics.  Examine whether there were inconsistencies, deficiencies, inadequacies in his or her ethical theory. If there were no shortcomings, account for the strength of the subject’s ethical position. What motivated the leaders to act appropriately or inappropriately, in your opinion? This should be approximately two-three pages.

1. SYNTHESIZE and EVALUATE: Do you agree with your subject’s approach to ethics? If not, why not, and if so, then why?  What did you learn from this interview and your research?  About two pages are adequate for this portion.

You are to summarize and analyze the content of the interview, not provide a verbatim transcript of the interview. This is due on Sunday of Week Six, and is worth 300 points. The grading rubric for this paper is provided in Course Information in Blackboard.

Signature Assignment

Executive Interview Rubric

Criteria

Exemplary

Proficient

Needs Improvement

Below Expectations

No credit

Content Accuracy 

80

Provides clear identification of the interviewee’s ethical beliefs and practices. Utilizing the course textbook or journal articles identify two or more ethical theorists or theories to explain the leader’s approach.

73

Provides fairly clear identification of the interviewee’s ethical beliefs and practices. Utilizing the course textbook or journal articles identify two or more ethical theorists or theories to explain the leader’s approach.

67

Provides somewhat clear identification of the interviewee’s ethical beliefs and practices. Utilizing the course textbook or journal articles identify one ethical theorist or theory to explain the leader’s approach.

61

Does not provide a clear identification of the interviewee’s ethical beliefs and practices. Does not utilize the course textbook or any journal articles, and does not identify any ethical theorists or theories to explain the leader’s approach.

0

Assignment, meeting grading criteria, was not submitted.

Critical Analysis 

80

In-depth discussion of three (3) of the following:

• Inadequacies, deficiencies, or inconsistencies in the subject’s ethics
• Strengths of the subject’s ethics
• Presents evidence corroborating your position of the subject ethical behavior

Utilizes the textbook and journal article(s) to state your case.

73

In-depth discussion of two (2) of the following:

• Inadequacies, deficiencies, or inconsistencies in the subject’s ethics
• Strengths of the subject’s ethics
• Presents evidence corroborating your position of the subject ethical behavior

Utilizes the textbook and journal article(s) to state your case.

67

In-depth discussion of one (1) of the following:

• Inadequacies, deficiencies, or inconsistencies in the subject’s ethics
• Strengths of the subject’s ethics
• Presents evidence corroborating your position of the subject ethical behavior

Utilizes the textbook and journal article(s) to state your case.

61

Does not discuss any of the following:

• Inadequacies, deficiencies, or inconsistencies in the subject’s ethics
• Strengths of the subject’s ethics
• Presents evidence corroborating your position of the subject ethical behavior

Does not utilize the textbook and/or journal article(s) to state your case.

0

Assignment, meeting grading criteria, was not submitted.

Application/

Learning 

60

The writer provides a clear and detailed rationale explaining support or opposition to the subject’s ethics.   Identifies a minimum of 3 learnings from the interview.

53

The writer provides a somewhat clear and somewhat detailed rationale explaining support or opposition to the subject’s ethics.   Identifies 2 learnings from the interview.

47

The writer provides an inadequate and minimally detailed rationale explaining support or opposition to the subject’s ethics.   Identifies 1 learning from the interview.

41

The writer does not provide a clear or detailed rationale explaining support or opposition to the subject’s ethics.   Does not identify learnings from the interview.

0

Assignment, meeting grading criteria, was not submitted.

Writing Mechanics and APA 

40

The writer clearly demonstrates an understanding of the assignment while using a style, form and language that is appropriate for a college level paper. The writer properly acknowledges the work of others by consistently utilizing current APA style.

33

The writer demonstrates some understanding of the assignment while using a style, form and language that is appropriate for a college level paper.

The writer properly acknowledges the work of others with some APA flaws.

27

The writer demonstrates minimal understanding of the assignment while using a style, form and language that is appropriate for a college level paper. The writer properly acknowledges the work of others with major APA flaws.

21

The writer uses a style, form, and language that are not college level quality.

The writer does not acknowledge the work of others, and does not utilize APA style.

0

Assignment, meeting grading criteria, was not submitted.

Use of Sources 

40

The writer has used at least 5 scholarly reference sources. Draws from primary sources for discussion.

33

The writer has used at least 5 scholarly reference sources. Draws heavily upon secondary sources for discussion.

27

The writer has used at least 5 scholarly reference sources. Draws heavily upon secondary sources for discussion.

21

The writer has used 4 or fewer scholarly sources of reference.

0

Assignment, meeting grading criteria, was not submitted.

Consider a project such as moving to a new neighborhood, completing a long-term school assignment, or even cleaning your bedroom.  Develop a set of activities necessary to accomplish that project, and then order them in a precedence manner to create sequential logic.  Explain and defend the number of steps you identified and the order in which you placed those steps for best completion of the project.In crashing a project, we routinely focus on those activities that lie on the critical path, not activities with slack time.  Explain why this is the case.Identify and discuss some of the problems or dangers in using project networks.  Under what circumstances can they be beneficial, and when can they be dangerous?

Imagine that you work for a global automobile manufacturer as a lead training and development associate. The head of human resources (HR) has had meetings with various departments, and a training need was identified by the sales department. Sales have dropped considerably in the last quarter, and through a training needs analysis, it was shown that sales associates lack the proper knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to effectively sell automobiles to various car dealerships in the United States and abroad.

The head of HR has asked that you give him or her a presentation on which major training theory you would recommend to apply to this scenario to equip the sales associates with the necessary skills to increase sales.

Select one training theory. This can be any of the four discussed in this unit or a training theory of your choice that interests you. Then, in your PowerPoint presentation, include the elements listed below.       

• Discuss the training theory and its primary tenets.
• Explain why you recommend this theory.
• Discuss two to three activities that you would build from this theory. For example, if you chose action theory, you may create group activities where sales associates run through sales scenarios with each other to see what works and what does not. Feel free to be as creative as you would like with your given theory. 
• Explain how your activities will address each learning style (i.e., visual, audible, and kinesthetic learning styles).

Your presentation must be at least 10 slides in length, not counting the title and reference slides. You are required to use at least one outside source and to utilize the notes section within PowerPoint. Within the notes section, include additional explanations for each slide. As you create your presentation, keep in mind that you are presenting for executives at your organization. All sources used, including the required unit resources, must be cited and referenced according to APA guidelines.

Work as a team to complete a Lean Six Sigma implementation case.  EVERYONE will interview two different person(s) who have experienced or associated with the Lean, Six Sigma, or Lean Six Sigma implementation project.  The interviews can be via phone, f2f meeting, or video conference and focus on the following topics:

–  The project’s objectives and outcomes (successful/failure), brief explaining methodology

–  The roles of this person in the project

–  Any forces and factors enabling the implementation process

–  Any barriers or obstacles that limited or constrained the process

–  Any techniques/tools and relevant metrics used by the organization

Section 1 – brief description of all interviews following the above topics

–  Section 2 – drawing tables/figures finding similarities and differences of these interviews focusing on forces and factors enabling the implementation, as well as the barriers or obstacles that limited or constrained the process. Any other useful information on Lean Six Sigma implementation process should be presented.

A list of reference noting the interviews conducted (names of individuals and organizations can be masked), data utilized, and additional source materials cited or consulted.

QUESTIONS WHICH HAVE TO BE ASKED ARE LISTED IN BELOW ATTACHED PHOTO

  

CASE 6: THE REGENCY GRAND HOTEL 

By Elizabeth Ho, Gucci Group, under the Supervision of Steven L. McShane, Curtin University (Australia) and University of Victoria (Canada) 

The Regency Grand Hotel is a five-star hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. The hotel was established 15 years ago by a local consortium of investors and has been operated by a Thai general manager throughout this time. The hotel is one of Bangkok’s most prestigious hotels and its 700 employees enjoyed the prestige associated with the hotel. The hotel provides good welfare benefits, above market rate salary, and job security. In addition, a good year-end bonus amounting to 4 months’ salary was rewarded to employees regardless of the hotel’s overall performance during the year. Recently, the Regency was sold to a large American hotel chain that was very keen to expand its operations into Thailand. When the acquisition was announced, the General Manager decided to take early retirement when the hotel changed ownership. The American hotel chain kept all of the Regency employees, although a few were transferred to other positions. 

John Becker, an American with 10 years of management experience with the hotel chain, was appointed as the new General Manager of Regency Palace Hotel. Becker was selected as the new General Manager because of his previous successes in integrating newly acquired hotels in the United States. In most of the previous acquisitions, Becker took over operations with poor profitability and low morale. Becker is a strong believer in empowerment. He expects employees to go beyond guidelines/standards to consider guest needs on a case-to-case basis. That is, employees must be guest-oriented at all times so as to provide excellent customer service. From his U.S. experience, Becker has found that empowerment increases employee motivation, performance, and job satisfaction, all of which contribute to the hotel’s profitability and customer service ratings. Soon after becoming General Manager in Regency Palace, Becker introduced the practice of empowerment so as to replicate the successes he had achieved back home. 

The Regency Grand hotel has been very profitable since it opened 15 years ago. The employees have always worked according to management’s instructions. Their responsibility was to ensure that the instructions from their managers were carried out diligently and conscientiously. Innovation and creativity were discouraged under the previous management. Indeed, employees were punished for their mistakes and discouraged from trying out ideas that had not been approved by management. As a result, employees were afraid to be innovative and to take risks. Becker met with Regency’s managers and department heads to explain that empowerment would be introduced in the hotel. He told them that employees must be empowered with decision-making authority so that they can use their initiative, creativity, and judgment to satisfy guest needs or handle problems effectively and efficiently. However, he stressed that the more complex issues and decisions were to be referred to superiors, who were to coach and assist rather than provide direct orders. Furthermore, Becker stressed that mistakes were allowed but there was no justification for making the same mistake more than twice. He advised his managers and department heads not to discuss with him minor issues/problems and not to consult minor decisions with him. Nevertheless, he told them that they are to discuss important/major issues and decisions with him. He concluded the meeting by asking for feedback. 

Several managers and department heads told him that they liked the idea and would support it, while others simply nodded their heads. Becker was pleased with the response, and was eager to have his plan implemented. In the past, the Regency had emphasized administrative control, resulting in many bureaucratic procedures throughout the organization. For example, the front counter employees needed to seek approval from their manager before they could upgrade guests to another category of room. The front counter manager would then have to write and submit a report to the General Manager justifying the upgrade. Soon after his meeting with managers, Becker reduced the number of bureaucratic rules at the Regency and allocated more decision-making authority to front-line employees. This action upset those who previously had decision-making power over these issues. As a result, several of these employees left the hotel. Becker also began spending a large portion of his time observing and interacting with the employees at the front desk, lobby, restaurants, and various departments. This direct interaction with Becker helped many employees to understand what he wanted and expected of them. 

However, the employees had much difficulty trying to distinguish between a major and minor issue/decision. More often than not, supervisors would reverse employee decisions by stating that they were major issues requiring management approval. Employees who displayed initiative and made good decisions in satisfying the needs of the guests rarely received any positive feedback from their supervisors. Eventually, most of these employees lost confidence in making decisions, and reverted to relying on their superiors for decision making. Not long after the implementation of the practice of empowerment, Becker realized that his subordinates were consulting him more frequently than before. Most of them came to him with minor issues and consulted with him on minor decisions. He had to spend most of his time attending to his subordinates. Soon Becker began to feel highly frustrated and exhausted, and very often would tell his secretary that “unless the hotel is on fire, don’t let anyone disturb me.” Becker thought that the practice of empowerment would benefit the overall performance of the hotel. 

However, contrary to his expectation, the business and overall performance of the hotel began to deteriorate. There had been an increasing number of guest complaints. In the past, the hotel had minimal guest complaints. Now a significant number of formal written complaints were turned in every month. Many other guests voiced their dissatisfaction verbally to hotel employees. The number of mistakes made by employees had been on the increase. Becker was very upset when he realized that two of the local newspapers and an overseas newspaper had published negative feedback on the hotel in terms of service standards. He was most distressed when an international travel magazine had voted the hotel as “one of Asia’s nightmare hotels.” The stress levels of the employees were continuously mounting since the introduction of the practice of empowerment. Absenteeism due to illness was increasing at an alarming rate. In addition, the employee turnover rate had reached an all-time high. The good working relationships that were established under the old management had been severely strained. The employees were no longer united and supportive of each other. They were quick to point fingers or backstab one another when mistakes were made and when problems occurred. Note: This case is based on true events, but the industry and names have been changed. 

1) Assignment: Read the Case Study 6: The Regency Grand Hotel, Selected Cases of the textbook.  Answer, discuss, and examine the following questions: 

1. What is your diagnosis of the situation in the company and the accounting department? Use 4 theories from chapters 5-7 in the textbook to diagnose the situation.

2. How would you go about helping Becker determine if empowerment is a good fit for the Regency Grand Hotel?

3. What might a new decision-making process look like at the Regency? How would you expect it to benefit the overall performance of the hotel?

4. How should the Regency transition to self-managed teams if it chooses to go in that direction? 

Case Study assignment will be 4 pages in length (exclusive of title page, reference page, etc.) and include two levels of headings. Required questions should serve as headings. Each paper will contain a minimum of four scholarly sources, one reference may be the textbook. 

-12-point Font; New Times Roman; Double Spaced; 1” Margins

-APA Format with regard to citations; Reference page required. APA Running Head or Abstract are not required. 

-Development of Main Points – Quality of Writing