For Wendy Lewis
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
I hope you are all ready for the GP. It focuses on ToolsCorp, a fictional company—when assigning equal tasking for each member, you need to realize that none of the seven questions in the GP are exactly equal in complexity. To assign equal tasking to each member, you need to be aware of the actual complexities of each assignment question.
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
There are seven questions in the GP and they are all different in complexity. Therefore, you cannot simply divide the tasking by question. As managers of your group, you are tasked with making an equal division of tasking for all your group members. See rule number 1 in the GP Rules. Rule Two states: Complete an equal share of the GP tasking—remember that in addition to the seven assignment questions, the administrative tasks, such as meeting coordination, input concatenation, rewriting fill-in, editing , and posting the GP are all also part of the GP tasking, so they must be included when equally dividing the tasking among your group members;
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
Lesser Complexity—Q3, the Mission Statement; Q4, the Operating Principles; and Q7, the Additional Material are the least complex. The Mission statement needs to use the Nine Essentials of an MS found in the Learning Material section of the VC. The Operating Principles need to state the value or ideal the firm holds to help them make their decisions. The Additional Material are those issues not yet identified in the GP which could help ensure a successful project—see the hints in the unit 5 GP Explanation file found in the Learning Material section of the VC for more explanation. These three questions are rather simple, because the MS is based on the information already stated about ToolsCorp, the OPs are your collective idea on what are the most important values and ideals for ToolsCorp to thrive, and the AM are your idea of needed extras. Each deserves your thought and analysis, but should not be problematic. I recommend two members be assigned to the teams which do these questions.
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
Medium Complexity—Q2, the outline of the Business Plan; and Q5, the preliminary Market Research, and the Administrative Tasks. These tasks require more research and analysis than the lesser complexity tasks and will; consequently, require more time and effort. Generic BPs and MAs can be researched as long as you find one that closely resembles ToolsCorp, its industries, and its goals—e.g., a manufacturing firm going global to the area of the world you intend to locate and to the level of involvement you intend for ToolsCorp would be ideal—engineer it by finding such a firm, then applying those specifics to ToolsCorp. However, get as close as you can and make changes to these generic plans to tailor them to your ideas for ToolsCorp. The Administrative tasks are self-explanatory, they are any task which needs to be done to prepare your response to the GP assignment for final posting—all the group decisions, schedules, editing, re-write, meeting coordination, concatenation of input, final edit, proper posting, in addition to the composition of the overall paper. I recommend two or three people be assigned or each of these questions.
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
Greater Complexity—Q1, the SWOT analysis. The SWOT is the second most complex task in the GP. It requires considerable research and analysis to successfully complete and is only surpassed in point value by Q6, the Strategies. Please use the SWOT section of the SWOT and Strategy file (SASF) to develop your SWOT. You must identify at least five factors for each category of the SWOT—Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat—and make doubly sure you fully explain each factor—why you think it is important, how you intend to use it, why it belongs in this category, and any other issue you feel explains its importance in the analysis. Be sure to note the SWOT Common Mistakes, make sure you do not make one of those mistakes. Be sure to realize, the internal SWOT factors must be current; while the external factors can be current or future-oriented factual information. Therefore, you cannot just make-up factors, especially the internal SWOT factors—the Strengths and Weaknesses, the attributes of the firm in question—they are especially susceptible to unfounded and unsubstantiated statements, because ToolsCorp is a fictitious company. For example, you cannot claim ToolsCorp had x-number of dollars in sales last year; no such data exists, ToolsCorp is fictitious. Please see the Drawing Logical Conclusions file to help understand. I recommend three or four people be assigned to this question.
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
Greatest Complexity—Q6, the three Strategies—one-year, five-year and ten-year. The three strategies are the most complex task in the GP. They require the most effort and are worth the most points of any task in the GP. Please use the Strategy section of the SWOT and Strategy file (SASF) to develop your Strategies. Remember, each of your three strategies must identify three necessary elements—implementation plan, potential ramifications, evaluation mechanisms and measures. The implementation plan must tell us HOW to accomplish your plan. Telling us WHAT you want to do is not a plan. The potential ramifications must identify several advantages and several disadvantages which may result from implementing your plan—the more pros and cons you identify the better. The evaluation mechanisms and measures must be four faceted—proactive and reactive mechanisms and the qualitative and quantitative measures those mechanisms gather. Be sure to note the Strategy Common Mistakes section, make sure you do not make one of those mistakes. I recommend the entire group be assigned to this question.
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
According to the MGT680 Unit 5 GP Grading Rubric, the points breakdown for the GP are:
Structure 10%, 20 points
Mechanics 10%, 20 points
Deliverable—the questions—35%, 70 points
Q1, the SWOT = 14; Q2, the BP = 9; Q3, the MS = 3; Q4, the KOP = 3; Q5, the MA = 9; Q6, the Strategies = 29; Q7, the Add Mat = 3; (14 + 9 + 3 + 3 + 9 + 29 + 3 = 70)
Critical Thought 20%, 40 points
Research and APA 25%, 50 points
Unit 5 GP TOTAL: 200 points, 20% of the entire MGT680 course grade.
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
All group members must equally share the administrative tasks (structure, mechanics, critical thought, research and APA) and each group itself will divide and assign the GP questions (deliverables) equally to each group member.
Of course, as mentioned in the Division of Tasking file, the division of tasking is left up to the group. However, if I note an inequity in your division of tasking, it may adversely affect your grade.
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
I suggest your group divide into sub-teams, with one team assigned to each question. I suggest more than one group member be assigned to each team; thereby, even the least complex questions (Q3, Q4, Q7) will have a back-up member to assist with the best development of response to that question.
This means all group members will be assigned to more than one team and; consequently, each member will work on more than one GP question. Doing so will allow your group to use its members’ complementary skills to help create a synergy of effort for the development of the best GP result.
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
To double-check the accuracy of your group’s division and assignation of GP tasking, I suggest you do the following:
Divide the total deliverable points, 70, by the number of members in your group.
For example, a six-person group should have assigned (70/6 = 11.666) approximately 12 points for each member; a five-person group (70/5 = 14) approximately 14 points for each member; a four-person group (70/4 = 17.50) approximately 18 points for each member; and a three-person group (70/3 = 23.33) approximately 23 points for each member.
Assign each member an equal number of points—it may not be possible to divide the points exactly even, but get as close as you can and then the group must reach a consensus if the tasks are equally divided.
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
For example, if two people are assigned to Q1, which is worth 14 points, and each person completes an equal share, then each member will have 7 points toward their individual tasking. In a six-person group, that would mean each of those members would need an additional 5 points in tasking to achieve the approximate 12 points needed for equal participation in a six-person group. If one of the two people completes a greater share of Q1 than the other; e.g., member #1 does 60% and member #2 does 40%, then #1 earns 8.4 points and #2 earns 5.6 points—rounding up and/or down may have to apply.
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
As in the example above, if any question in the GP is worked by multiple people in unequal portions; then a division and rounding of points will be necessary—the consensus of the group determines the legitimacy of the rounding.
So, do the best you can to divide the tasks evenly—the consensus of the group is decisive—and make sure you each complete and equal share.
Unit 5 GP Task Complexity
Please make sure you read all the GP-related files I have uploaded to your small group DB and to the Learning Material section of the VC.
Specifically important are the GP Rules, Consensus Leadership, Complexity of Tasking, Division of Tasking, Drawing Logical Conclusions, and Conclusions Drawn by ToolsCorp files.