business management
Purpose
In this project, you will demonstrate an understanding of management and leadership skills and leadership styles. You will read a case scenario and apply what you have learned to make a recommendation for a new position with PureLife Foods.
Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment
· demonstrate leadership skills by communicating a shared vision, motivating and empowering others, and creating a culture of ethical decision-making and innovation
How to Set Up the Paper
Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced using 12-point font. The final product will be 3-4 pages in length excluding the title page and reference page. Write clearly and concisely.
Use Project 3 Template to complete this project.
Scenario Information:
You are currently working as an associate reporting to the Senior Lead Consultant for Green Line Consultants. The Senior Lead Consultant has been contacted by Grace Polk, head of R&D for PureLife Foods, Grace explained that she has been working to get the initial planning of a new division started but it is time to hand over the reins to a new Executive Director who will be responsible for bringing the division together and establishing the new division as a well-oiled machine. The Senior Lead Consultant has asked you to help conduct a candidate search for the position of Executive Director for the Fitness and Nutrition division.
PureLife Foods currently produces and distributes organic vegetarian food products to major retailers such as Giant and Safeway that in turn are sold to the public. PureLife has decided to start producing and distributing a line of all-natural energy bars with its existing contracted clients.
Consider the question, “Who is a manager and what is their job in an organization?” As PureLife Foods launches a new product division to design, develop and deliver energy bars, the company will need to bring in someone to manage this division. The desire of Grace Polk is that the new Executive Director for the Energy Bars Division will be open to innovative ways to develop green and sustainable products that will not only be popular among the traditional PureLife Foods customer base, but also will be the face of the organization when marketing company products.
Partnering with Green Line Consultants, Grace will be vetting three potential candidates who will be expected to jump in and begin the development of management plans that will be used to establish the new division. The transcripts from the interviews of the three potential candidates have been given to the Green Line Consultants team who will help Grace. The new Executive Director will be a Manager of the 21st Century who will be able to instill the culture, value and traditions of PureLife Foods into the employees hired as managers and employees.
In the beginning, the Executive Director will be the face of PureLife Food’s marketing brand. In addition, this new employee will need to be able to motivate not only the employee base of these new products but also motivate a new customer base for PureLife Foods on the ‘difference’ PureLife Foods will bring to the Energy Bars industry. Currently, the Energy Bars industry consists a lot of well-established companies, and a strong entry will be key to grab market share. Innovative and well-made products, good marketing, and a clear strategy will be critical to a strong entry, so bringing in a strong director will be key.
Candidate Summary of Transcripts
Beth Jordan
Beth has spent the past 25 years working for Star Lite Foods, a mid-sized vegetarian food company currently operating out of Texas, which recently was bought by a large health food company looking to expand to Energy Bars. For the past two years Beth has served as the Vice President of Operations and Marketing where, according to her statements in the interview, she was instrumental in helping Star Lite gain a 12% increase year-over-year in market share. Before being named as a vice president for Star Lite, Beth worked for 10 years as a Regional Director in Maine responsible for sourcing vegetables from regional farms. During her run as a Regional Director she was responsible for making visits to the farms along the eastern seaboard to ensure compliance to company, federal, and local safety and production regulations. She credited her success in that role to her strict management style of being a part of each farmer's decision making process regardless of the farmer's independent status. She did this through modern communication channels that allowed her and her personnel to work from their homes rather than from office space in headquarters. The previous 13 years with the company were spent climbing the corporate ladder starting with the company in the production line at the Michigan plant where the company got its start. During her interview Beth stated that PureLife Foods should consider getting into the Energy Bars industry with less focus on sustainability and green initiatives as it can be a difficult industry for new entrants. Beth proposed focusing on making quality products that can be sourced from local vendors. She stated that once established, the company could initiate a move to being more environmentally and attentive to the well-being of consumers. She proudly stated that she was an ‘old school’ manager whose success in Texas came from her ‘hands on’ approach. Beth stated in her cover letter that she is an experienced executive with a successful track record.
Sharron Tulles
Sharron has been working for PureLife Foods as the Deputy Executive Director of the West Coast Division for the last year mainly focused on helping the Meatless Hamburger Patty branch become more environmentally and human friendly. Sharron currently holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from UMGC. Prior to her current position Sharron was a production manager at the Arizona facility for eleven years and was highly regarded within the employee ranks as a fair manager who was inclusive in her decision making. This allowed her to keep employees involved in the daily operations of the plant and in her opinion helped to foster a cohesive workforce. Sharron’s research in organic ingredients was a major reason for the ascension of PureLife Foods in Oregon’s list of environmental and human friendly companies. Prior to joining PureLife Foods twelve years ago, Sharron spent one year as an intern for a small non-profit company researching the long-term effects of soy-based and animal-based products imported from Asia. During her initial screening, Sharron admitted she does not have any marketing experience to help be the face of the new product but has a strong desire to work on those skills and believes she has the managerial and leadership qualities to guide the team to success. Sharron stated in her cover letter that although she only has twelve years of experience she would be a great fit for this executive position not just due to her familiarity with PureLife Foods, its core values, understanding of its mission and vision, but also because of her desire to see PureLife Foods become a leader in sustainable production with a focus on being environmentally and human friendly. Her degree in chemical engineering paired with the desire stated previously, would also allow her to focus on finding ways for PureLife Foods to become the leader in quality, clean energy bars.
Jack Tillson
Jack is the current owner of Bigsby Frozen Foods that focuses on vegetarian frozen meals, with over $300M in sales annually. PureLife Foods recently agreed to purchase Bigsby’s and made a promise for Jack to receive a position within the organization as part of the purchase agreement. It was agreed that Rico Manuel, Jack’s long-time expert Frozen Foods Director would take over as Director of Operations for the PureLife Foods’s supplement division. Terry Schinn, PureLife’s COO, has asked to have Jack vetted carefully to see if maybe this new position would be a good fit for his executive level management and leadership skills. Terry also believes that since ‘Jack can run his own company he should be able to run a new division.’ The purchase of Jack’s company by PureLife Foods has a stipulation that Jack must be provided with a ‘high level’ position within the organization. Prior to starting the company 17 years ago Jack was an officer in the US Air Force working in logistics. During Grace’s conversations with Jack, he admitted that he handled the operations and financial side of the company for many of the company’s initial years while Rico led the marketing campaigns that helped the company grow exponentially for the first few years and maintain steady growth thereafter. However, he believes that since he has been leading Bigsby’s through its growth that he could easily manage PureLife Foods into a new venture. Jack feels confident he is the best candidate and is a front runner for the position.
Instructions:
You have been asked to review the three candidates and make a recommendation for the Executive Director position. The new Executive Director will have a lot of responsibility in managing and leading.
You will evaluate each of the three candidates considering each candidate’s full body of experience and how their experience aligns with Grace’s expectations for the new position as well as how each candidate will lead within the context of PureLife Foods’s desire to be a green and sustainable organization.
Review the Paper: Read the paper to ensure all required elements are present. The following are specific requirements that you will follow. Use the checklist to mark off that you have followed each specific requirement.
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Checklist |
Specific Project Requirements |
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Proofread your paper |
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Read and use the grading rubric while completing the problem set to ensure all requirements are met that will lead to the highest possible grade. |
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Third person writing is required. Third person means that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person . |
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Contractions are not used in business writing, so do not use them. |
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Paraphrase and do not use direct quotation marks. Paraphrase means you do not use more than four consecutive words from a source document. Instead put a passage from a source document into your own words and attribute the passage to the source document. Not using direct quotation marks means that there should be no passages with quotation marks and instead the source material is paraphrased as stated above. Note that a reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. You may not use more than four consecutive words from a source document, as doing so would require direct quotation marks. Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having quotation marks. If more than four consecutive words are used from source documents, this material will not be included in the grade and could lead to allegations of academic dishonesty. |
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You are expected to use the research and weekly course material to develop the analysis and support the reasoning. There should be a robust use of the course material along with thorough analysis of potential location information. Material used from a source document must be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. Changing words from a passage does not exclude the passage from having quotation marks. If more than four consecutive words are used from source documents, this material will not be included in the grade and could lead to allegations of academic dishonesty. |
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Use in-text citations and provide a reference list that contains the reference associated with each in-text citation. |
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You may not use books in completing this problem set unless part of the course material. Also, do not use a dictionary or Wikipedia. |
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Provide the page or paragraph number in every in-text citation presented. If the eBook does not have pages, provide the chapter title and topic heading. If using a video, provide the minutes and second of the cited material. |
Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder (The assignment submitted to the Assignment Folder will be considered the student's final product and therefore ready for grading by the instructor. It is incumbent upon the student to verify the assignment is the correct submission. No exceptions will be considered by the instructor).
Rubric Name: Project #3 Leading (15%)
This table lists criteria and criteria group name in the first column. The first row lists level names and includes scores if the rubric uses a numeric scoring method.Criteria
Equivalent to an A
Equivalent to a B
Equivalent to a C
Equivalent to a D
Equivalent to an F
Introduction (3%)
3 points
Writes an introduction that captures the reader's attention, gives context to the paper, and builds to the thesis (in the last sentence of the introduction) that defines all of the main points to be discussed in the paper.
(2.7 - 3)
2.55 points
Writes an introduction that provides a general context to the paper, has a thesis statement and somewhat discusses main topics but is vague or does not cover all main topics.
(2.4 - 2.6)
2.25 points
Writes an introduction that provides context to the paper and presents main topics covered in the paper but this information is not presented in a thesis statement but throughout the first paragraph.
(2.1 - 2.3)
1.95 points
Attempts to write an introduction but has little to no context to the paper; the thesis is missing main points or no thesis statement provided.
(1.8 - 2.0)
0 points
No attempt to write an introduction.
(0)
/ 3
Identify and discuss the management skills that each candidate possesses. (14%)
14 points
Thoroughly and correctly Identifies and discusses the management skills that each candidate possesses using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts.
(12.6 - 14)
11.9 points
Correctly Identifies and discusses the management skills that each candidate possesses using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts but needs some development.
(11.2 - 12.5)
10.5 points
Identifies and discusses the management skills that each candidate possesses using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts but needs significant development.
(9.8 - 11.1)
9.1 points
Attempts to identify or discuss the management skills that each candidate possesses using little to no course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts; may not use case scenario facts; may not discuss each candidate or partially discusses or incorrect choices made; needs major development.
(8.4 - 9.7)
0 points
Little to no attempt to identify or discuss the management skills that each candidate possesses.
(0 - 8.3)
/ 14
Identify and discuss the leadership skills that each candidate possesses. (14%)
14 points
Thoroughly and correctly identifies and discusses the leadership skills that each candidate possesses using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts.
(12.6 - 14)
11.9 points
Correctly identifies and discusses the leadership skills that each candidate possesses using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts; some development needed.
(11.2 - 12.5)
10.5 points
Identifies and discusses the leadership skills that each candidate possesses using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts; significant development needed.
(9.8 - 11.1)
9.1 points
Attempts to identify or discuss the leadership skills that each candidate possesses using little to no course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts; may not use case scenario facts; may not discuss each candidate or partially discusses or made incorrect choices; needs major development.
(8.4 - 9.7)
0 points
Little to no attempt to identify or discuss the leadership skills that each candidate possesses.
(0 - 8.3)
/ 14
Identify and discuss the leadership style of each candidate. (14%)
14 points
Thoroughly and correctly identifies and discusses the leadership style that each candidate possesses using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts.
(12.6 - 14)
11.9 points
Correctly identifies and discusses the leadership style that each candidate possesses using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts; some development needed.
(11.2 - 12.5)
10.5 points
Identifies and discusses the leadership style that each candidate possesses using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts; significant development needed.
(9.8 - 11.1)
9.1 points
Attempts to identify or discuss the leadership style that each candidate possesses using little to no course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts; may not use case scenario facts; may not discuss each candidate or partially discusses or made incorrect choices; needs major development.
(8.4 - 9.7)
0 points
Little to no attempt to identify or discuss the leadership style that each candidate possesses.
(0 - 8.3)
/ 14
Recommend one candidate that Green Line Consultants should recommend to Grace Polk at PureLife Foods and explain why this candidate is the best choice. (13%)
13 points
Recommends the best candidate that Green Line Consultants should recommend and explains why this candidate is the best choice using the case scenario facts and the course materials to support reasoning.
(11.7 - 13)
11.05 points
Recommends a candidate and explains why this candidate is the best choice using case scenario facts and course materials to support reasoning but needs some development.
(10.4 - 11.6)
9.75 points
Recommends a candidate and explains why this candidate is the best choice using case scenario facts and course materials to support reasoning but needs significant development.
(9.1 - 10.3)
8.45 points
Recommends a candidate; fails to use case scenario facts to explain why; uses minimal or no course materials to support reasoning; major development needed.
(7.8 - 9)
0 points
Little to no attempt to recommend a candidate or explanation why this candidate is the best choice was missing.
(0 - 7.7)
/ 13
Explain why the other two candidates were not selected. (14%)
14 points
Thoroughly and correctly explains why the other two candidates were not selected using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts.
(12.6 - 14)
11.9 points
Correctly explains why the other two candidates were not selected using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts; some development needed.
(11.2 - 12.5)
10.5 points
Explains why the other two candidates were not selected using course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts; significant development needed.
(9.8 - 11.1)
9.1 points
Attempts to explain why the other two candidates were not selected using little to no course materials to make connections with the case scenario facts; may not use case scenario facts; may not discuss each candidate or partially discusses or made incorrect choices; needs major development.
(8.4 - 9.7)
0 points
Little to no attempt to explain why the other two candidates were not selected .
(0 - 8.3)
/ 14
Conclusion (3%)
3 points
In a clear and concise manner, comprehensively concludes the paper by restating/ summarizing the main topics covered in the paper and reflect on the importance of the arguments made.
(2.7 - 3)
2.55 points
In a clear manner concludes the paper by restating/ summarizing the main points; some development is needed.
(2.4 - 2.6)
2.25 points
Concludes the paper by somewhat restating/ summarizing the argument. Attempts to bring in some explanation or general idea of the main points of the paper but needs significant development.
(2.1 - 2.3)
1.95 points
Presents a conclusion but may be irrelevant to the main topics of the paper OR does not discuss the main topics of the paper.
(1.8 - 2)
0 points
Fails to present restatement/ summarization of argument.
(0 - 1.7)
/ 3
Attention to Instructions (10%)
10 points
The paper contains all major assignment tasks. The paper also includes completion of all required elements (Word or rtf file, third person writing, paraphrasing, no more than four consecutive words from source, no contractions, page/paragraph numbers/Chapter Titles).
(9 - 10)
8.5 points
The paper contains all major assignment tasks. The paper missed one minor element (Word or rtf file, third person writing, paraphrasing, no more than four consecutive words from source, no contractions, page/paragraph/numbers/Chapter Titles). (8 - 8.9)
7.5 points
One major assignment tasks or two minor elements of the assignment missed. .
(7 - 7.9)
6.5 points
Two major assignment tasks missed or 3 minor aspects of the assignments.
(6 - 6.9)
0 points
Three or more major assignment tasks missed OR four or more minor elements missed.
(0 - 5.9)
/ 10
Writing Mechanics (10%)
10 points
Strictly adheres to standard usage rules of written English using paragraphs and sentence rather than bullets, including but not limited to capitalization, punctuation, run-on sentences, missing or extra words, stylistic errors, spelling and grammatical errors. No jargon used. No writing errors noted.
(9 - 10)
8.5 points
Excellently adheres to standard usage of mechanics: conventions of written English, including capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. One - three errors noted.
(8 - 8.9)
7.5 points
Satisfactorily adheres to standard usage rules of mechanics: conventions of English, including capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Four to seven errors noted.
(7 - 7.9)
6.5 points
Minimally adheres to standard usage rules of mechanics: conventions of written English, including capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. More than 7 errors found.
(6 - 6.9)
0 points
Does not adhere to standard usage rules of mechanics: conventions of written English largely incomprehensible, or errors are too plentiful to count.
(0 - 5.9)
/ 10
APA Style (6th ed.) (5%)
5 points
No APA style or usage errors; Proper citation of source material is used throughout paper; Reference titles follow APA with only the first word, the first word after a colon and proper nouns capitalized.
(4.5 - 5)
4.25 points
Uses in-text citations and reference list but 1 - 2 APA style errors noted or fails to use APA citations when appropriate 1-2 times.
(4 - 4.4)
3.75 points
Uses in-text citations and reference lists; but 3 - 4 APA style errors noted or fails to use APA citations when appropriate 3 - 4 times.
(3.5 - 3.9)
3.25 points
Attempts in-text citations and reference lists; but 5 - 6 times style errors noted or fails to use APA citations when appropriate 5-6 times. Seldom uses APA.
(3 - 3.4)
No attempt at APA style; or attempts either in-text citations or reference list but omits the other.
(0 – 2.99)
Bottom of Form
COURSE MATERIALS
Theme 1: What is leading?
Professor Warren G. Bennis stated that “leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.” It is true that when we manage we must ensure processes are followed safely and accurately to attain the highest possible efficiency, but we also must remember to set the tone for how our employees will go about doing their jobs. Leaders set that tone by being the example of how to interact within the organization.
· What Makes an Effective Leader?
· Effective vs. Poor Leadership
· Situational Theories of Leadership
· Transformational and Transactional Theories of Leadership
· Putting It Together: Leadership
Theme 2: The manager must be able to make decisions, solve problems, communicate, motivate employees, and lead teams toward the completion of tasks. This is often done as part of the leading function. This week students learn about leading and motivating employees.
· The Importance of Employee Motivation
· Needs-Based Theories of Motivation
· Process-Based Theories of Motivation
· Job Characteristics that Affect Motivation
· Manager’s Role in Promoting Motivation
· Putting It Together: Motivation
Theme 1: The manager must be able to make decisions, solve problems, communicate, motivate employees, and lead teams toward the completion of tasks. This is often done as part of the leading function. This week students learn about leading and communication.
· Why It Matters: Communication
· Communication and Management
· Barriers to Effective Communication
· Channels of Business Communication
· Putting It Together: Communication
· Why It Matters: Decision Making
· Barriers to Individual Decision Making and Styles of Decision Making
· Rational Decision Making vs. Other Types of Decision Making
Theme 2: We are working in an environment where constant change has become the norm in business.
Change is the natural process any organization will go through in today’s fast moving marketplace. The world as we know it is constantly undergoing change but so is technology, customer trends, world affairs, and the economy. The organization that is not willing to adapt to this ever-changing business climate and embrace frequent change will be left like the dinosaurs; extinct. When it is time for your organization to make a change you will need to have people in place that can help not just the organization navigate through the complexities, but also to help the personnel understand the need for change and embrace the challenges that may lie ahead during the process. This person will be your Change Agent, and they will be a critical component.
We discovered the need for change and having good personnel in place to help navigate the challenges during change this week; but that ability to help others navigate change stems from developing strong communication skills.
· Managing Change For Organizations
· Managing Change For Employees