Bbusiness Managment
Decide on the type of representative you would like to interview (such as an HR manager, an IT director, a project team leader, et cetera) and choose the type of industry you would like to focus on. Examples might be marketing organizations or departments, IT organizations or departments, fire or police departments, hospitals, banks, et cetera. Note that the organization you select does not have to be a for-profit business. Nonprofit organizations also may work. The interviewee must fit the following criteria:
• Hold the title of manager or above in an organization with at least 10, but preferably more, full-time employees.
• Have at least two direct reports.
• Have a broad knowledge of the structure and processes of the organization (at the department level or the whole organization level).
Request for an Interview
When you contact the interviewee, explain who you are, what you are doing, and how you will use the interview material. Explain the definition, rationale, and critical success factors for a high-performance learning organization, and the relationship of structure and learning to high performance, according to the research. These are the themes discussed in your course text and the Background Paper.
Overview
This interview is the primary resource for your course project. The quality of the questions and your preparation for conducting the interview will have a critical impact on the success of your project. That means you should prepare the questions based on your knowledge of the company, the interviewee, and what you are learning about high-performing learning organizations through your coursework.
Instructions
Develop an interview plan. Remember to explain your rationale for choosing this interviewee. Use the resource Information Interviewing (given in the resources) to help you plan your interview approach.
Based on your readings thus far, create a list of interview questions that explore the issues of structure, learning, and performance. Note: Be careful not to stray into leadership or career management as interview topics. Remember to focus on the topics assigned. The questions could include those about strategy, market environment, organization history, restructuring efforts, learning practices, executive behavior, competitive pressures, performance success criteria, information flow to enhance learning, reward structures that encourage motivation, and methods for enhancing people skill and capabilities. To aid in this process, you are encouraged to use Galbraith's star model as a framework for both your interview and subsequent final course project.
Submission Requirements
Your plan should meet the following requirements:
• Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA format: Resources and citations should be in current APA format. Be sure to include title and reference pages.
• Length: 2-3 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the title and reference pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.