Module 8-2

Prompt

This group discussion will focus on a fictitious, publicly traded company named Global Energy Services, Inc., which provides oil to three states. This organization is facing the following significant challenges:

1. With the price of oil falling and revenues negatively impacted, the company risks not meeting the shareholder expectations for the next quarter and, perhaps, even the year.

2. An EPA report on a lucrative oil drilling field in one of the states indicates that the freshwater supply may be contaminated and must be remediated immediately.

3. Organizational changes to reduce expenses and pay for the water supply cleanup will certainly require headcount reduction. This will affect employee morale and further reduce staff to work on the other issues. The rumor mill is already active with concerns about layoffs and budget reductions.

The group is tasked with providing a one- to two-page summary of recommendations to the organization’s board of directors regarding the following issues:

· How to balance the performance objective of revenue growth and increased market share

· Remediating the costly environmental issue caused by the company

· Addressing the hard decision to downsize at a critical time

Specifically, your summary must include the following critical elements:

I. Introduction: All challenges that the company is facing should be present in the introduction.

II. Recommendations: Provide recommendations to the board of directors that are thoughtfully detailed.

III. Identifies Priority of Focus: Identify the priority order of focus and give a rationale.

IV. Criteria: Address two proposed steps for the area relative to balancing the need to address the environmental issue while considering company growth and employee concerns.

What to Submit

Collaborate with your group members directly in your group discussion topic thread. Once your group has completed its summary, post it directly into the discussion topic thread. 

Important: Designate one group member to submit it to Brightspace for grading. The summary can be bullet points or narrative, but it must clearly accomplish the following tasks:

· Identify the priority order of social (people), economic (profit), and environmental (planet) focuses. Include your rationale.

· Address two steps you propose for your area relative to balancing the need to address the environmental issue while considering company growth and employee concerns.

It is possible that your proposed solutions may even encompass a holistic approach that serves all focus areas at once.