operations management

Assignment 2: LASA 1—Conducting an Organizational Assessment

The success of an organization depends heavily on its structure, strategies, and culture. In this assignment, you will develop an understanding of the importance of these elements in the success/failure of an enterprise.

This assignment is the first of the two LASA assignments you will complete in this course.

Using the Argosy University online library resources and the Internet, research methods of conducting internal and external environment analyses. Select at least three (3) scholarly sources to support the information in your report.

Description of LASA:

In this assignment, you will assess an organization’s current position in the internal and external environment.

Scenario:

You have been hired as a consultant to evaluate the performance of a manufacturing or service organization. As part of your function, you need to assess the organization’s current position with regard to their business operations, strategy, and organizational structure, as well as identify potential ethical issues management may face. The executive management team has asked you to submit a report of your findings.

Instructions:

Choose a publicly traded manufacturing or service organization to be the subject of your work for LASA 1 and LASA 2. (You should choose a different organization than you have used for previous assignments.) Select an organization about which there is an abundance of information made readily available to the public (via the corporate website, industry publications, business journals, etc.).

In preparation for your report, conduct your review of the organization using the following approach:

• Evaluate the company’s business strategy and global competitiveness plan.
• Conduct an internal assessment using SWOT analysis.
• Assess the external environment via an external scenario evaluation.
• Sketch the company’s organizational structure.
• Using the tools of business process design, define the organization’s business process.
• Identify any potential ethical issues that may impact the traditional management functions of the company and recommend preventative measures.

Utilize at least three sources in your research. Your document should be written in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Write an 8–10-page report in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2.doc.

By Wednesday, April 15, 2015, deliver your assignment to the M3: Assignment 2 LASA 1 Dropbox.

LASA 1 Grading Criteria and Rubric

Assignment Components	Proficient	Max Points
Evaluate the company’s business strategy and global competitiveness plan.	Evaluation of the business strategy and global competitiveness plan is logical and reflects research of the company.	32
Conduct an internal assessment using SWOT analysis.	SWOT analysis provides an accurate account of the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. All elements of the SWOT analysis are complete.	32
Assess the external environment via an external scenario evaluation.	External scenario evaluation is complete. Response reflects understanding of the organization and its place within the external environment.	28
Diagram the company’s organizational structure.	Organizational structure diagram is complete and accurate.	28
Using the tools of business process design, define the organization’s business process.	The organization’s business process is accurately defined. Response reflects an accurate understanding of business processes.	36
Academic Writing
Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in appropriate and accurate representation and attribution of sources (i.e., APA); and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Use of scholarly sources aligns with specified assignment requirements.	Wrote in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrated ethical scholarship in appropriate and accurate representation and attribution of sources; and displayed accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Use of scholarly sources aligns with specified assignment requirements.	44
Total		200