Assignment: Project Guidelines
Overview
The final project for this course will be the creation of a consulting report. The assessment will be a solution-based approach that will apply the elements of the course to a case study. You will demonstrate levels of attentiveness and responsiveness that leaders of an organization should observe so as to enhance relationships between an organization and its community. You will be tasked with applying leadership processes and theories in the development of solutions to a case study. Additionally, this assessment will allow you to combine theory and practice and apply these concepts to a relevant contemporary situation.
Leaders rise above what is expected in order to be a model of excellence. A leader, therefore, is responsible to pursue excellence in both relationships and tasks. This also means that a leader will try to benefit both internal and external stakeholders. This is the essence of responsibility: to lead others with integrity, holding to an ethic that cares for people and the planet while maintaining profitability for the business.
Your final task for this course will be to research and evaluate a company and identify issues related to the way the company operates. You will then recommend changes that need to occur in order for the company to demonstrate corporate responsibility in its relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
You will incorporate content and feedback from Milestones One, Two, and Three, adding the Conclusion and Executive Summary sections in the final submission. The final submission should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final project. The project is divided into three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three, Five, and Seven. Your final project will be in the form of a consulting report including an executive summary that will be submitted in Module Nine.
This assessment addresses the following course outcomes:
• Propose alternative solutions to establish a culture of corporate responsibility including people, planet, and profit
• Evaluate the levels of attentiveness and responsiveness that leaders of an organization should embody to enhance relationships between the organization and society
• Interpret the health of an organization through the lens of a triple bottom line of people, planet, and profits
• Devise a plan to strategically lead an organization to practice responsible corporate behavior for the purpose of developing optimal stakeholder relationships
• Evaluate the impact of corporate policies and practices on internal and external stakeholders for leading an organization to operate responsibly
Prompt
An executive of a large company has asked that you to consult with them to create a consulting report to help the company receive input on how to become more responsible in three main areas of the company's operations; people, planet, and profit. You will need to do the research, design the consulting report, and provide an executive summary.
Before you begin, choose one of the following companies to research and write your consulting report on. All of these companies have done well in some areas, but have criticism in other areas of their operations:
• BP (formerly British Petroleum)
• Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
• Dow Chemical
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
• Waste Management, Inc.
After researching a company, write a 15-20-page consulting report including an executive summary, which addresses the following:
I. Introduction: Summarize the history of this company through the lenses of people, planet, and profits. For example, what are some of the commendable accomplishments and some possible issues? Consider the short- and long-term impacts of the problems that have occurred due to a lack of responsible behavior.
II. Analysis of Issues
For this section of the assessment, you will provide your analysis of the company's corporate responsibility including people, planet, and profit.
A. Personnel (people):
1. Identify the major stakeholders that may have been adversely affected by the behaviors of the company through the lens of personnel relationships. Consider: What specifically has occurred to demonstrate corporate irresponsibility?
2. Analyze current practices in terms of personnel relations occurring in the selected company. How do they compare to current research on corporate responsibility in terms of personnel relations? Consider giving examples of exemplary practices in the industry or related industry to support your claims.
B. Environmental (planet):
1. Analyze the environmental impacts affected by the policies of the company. How has this company made a positive impact on the environment? Consider giving examples of exemplary practices in the industry or related industry.
2. Based on your analysis of the company's impact on the environment, conclude how this company has demonstrated corporate irresponsibility. Consider justifying your response using supporting examples.
3. Predict the short- and long-term effects of the current environmental policies upon the major stakeholders. How can improvement in this area benefit the stakeholders? Consider providing some examples of companies that have made an effort to benefit the stakeholders through a responsible environmental policy.
C. Sound Business Practices (profit):
1. Determine what stakeholders are affected when the company remains profitable. How is this balanced with responsible corporate behavior? Think about using anti-exemplar illustrations of other companies in which the pursuit of profit has overshadowed responsible corporate behavior to support your claims.
III. Recommendations
For this section of the assessment, you will provide recommendations based on your analysis of the company's corporate responsibility including people, planet, and profit.
A. People: Recommend how this company could improve on its relationships with stakeholders, such as employees or customers. How would following these recommendations help the company better achieve its mission? Consider discussing the need for diversity in the makeup of the company's employees and leadership.
B. Planet: Recommend ways this company could improve in terms of its environmental policies. How would the policies affect key stakeholders in the community? Consider providing the company's present location and exploring the impact of a positive environmental policy on that location.
C. Profit: Point out some adjustments that the company might make to remain or become profitable. What is the benefit of profitability to the key stakeholders? Consider giving examples of how other companies have been profitable while operating responsibly.
IV. Implementation
For this section of the assessment, you will provide deeper insight on how the company could implement your recommendations and promote a culture of responsible corporate behavior.
A. People: Illustrate specific steps needed to be taken by the company to implement your recommendations to improve relationships with stakeholders. What are the possible sacrifices that might need to be made? Think about how implementing these steps could help change the culture of the company.
B. Planet: Illustrate immediate steps needed to be taken by the company to implement your recommendations on how to improve in terms of its environmental policies. Consider justifying your response by including how implementing these steps can help change the culture of the company.
C. Profit: Illustrate specific steps necessary for the company to remain profitable. How would taking these steps promote a culture of responsible corporate behavior? Consider the cost of the implementation of the changes versus the overall benefit of the changes.
V. Opportunities
A. Predict ways in which relationships with community stakeholders would improve as a result of the new policies. Think about the positive impact these new policies might have on oppressed members of the community.
B. Evaluate what ways these policies might help the industry as a whole. How would implementing these policies allow the company to be an industry leader? Consider explaining why becoming an industry leader is important.
C. Describe the general outlook for the company's profitability while still following the recommendations that you are making. How are these recommendations good for business in the short term and the long term? Consider giving examples of possible opportunities for business growth as a result of these policies.
VI. Conclusion
For this section of the assessment, you will present a summary of the findings and recommendations explored on the report.
A. Summarize how the company can expand the number of its commendable accomplishments and how these changes in corporate policy improve on these accomplishments. Think about the connections to key stakeholders and its profitability.
B. Summarize how the recommended changes relate to the company's mission. Consider including the long-term impact of this company's policies on the key stakeholders and how this affects the profitability of the company in a positive manner.
VII. Executive Summary
For this section of the assessment, you will summarize your consulting report in short form. Even though this is the last section of your assessment, executive summaries are actually placed at the beginning of consulting reports, before the introduction.
A. Summarize your key findings and recommendations on the following:
• Analysis
• Recommendations
• Implementation
• Opportunities
• Benefits to the company
Milestones
Milestone One: Draft of Introduction and Outline of Analysis of Issues
In Module Three, you will submit a draft of the Introduction (Section I) and an outline of the Analysis of Issues (Section II). The introduction should be 3-4 paragraphs in length and should include the purpose and scope of your chosen company, including an overview of your company. The outline should be 1-2 pages in length and can contain bullet points, listed information, or short phrases that indicate areas you will expand upon in the Milestone Two submission.
Milestone Two: Draft of Analysis of Issues and Outline of Recommendations and Implementation
In Module Five, you will submit a draft of the Analysis of Issues (Section II) and an outline of the Recommendations (Section III) and Implementation (Section IV). The analysis of issues should be 8-10 pages in length and should provide your analysis of the company's corporate responsibility including people, planet, and profit. The outline should be 1-2 pages in length and can contain bullet points, listed information, or short phrases that indicate areas you will expand upon in the Milestone Three submission.
Milestone Three: Draft of Recommendations and Implementation and Outline of Opportunities
In Module Seven, you will submit a draft of the Recommendations (Section III) and Implementation (Section IV) and an outline of the Opportunities (Section V). The recommendations and implementation should be 5-7 pages in length and should provide recommendations based on your analysis of the company's corporate responsibility and deeper insight on how the company could implement your recommendations. The outline should be 1-2 pages in length and can contain bullet points, listed information, or short phrases that indicate areas you will expand upon in the final submission.