This team based assignment will focus on applying topics introduced in our understanding the individuals in the organization class within a selected industry sector as well as to example organizations within that sector. Your project team will act as a research and consulting team which is identifying determinants of effectiveness and writing a concise white paper. Your weekly reading responses will provide much of the research needed to compile this mini-case study and collection of best-practices. The objective of this exercise is to produce a case study of the selected sector (and example organizations) which provides a roadmap to effective organizational practice and leadership approaches in response to various challenges. These challenges will be presented in response to specified weekly readings and in-class discussions. The final paper will be between 7-10 pages and should be well written (minimal typos), well organized and contain citations for research and references (at least ten cited references). Include section headers within your paper as well as page numbers. 12 point font, 1 inch margins, and feel free to include graphical elements. Elements of the case will include, but are not limited to the following.

• Industry background information (description, impact, size, value, description of primary stakeholders) and example organization
• Common measures of effectiveness of organizations in this sector
• Selected example organization with structural breakdown and leadership profile
• Description of skills, knowledge and competencies that are called for across leadership in this sector
• An exploration of a specific change in an organization
• Consideration of the HR and talent planning challenges and opportunities that are present across this sector and how this could impact the example organization
• Day to day management strategy to present the changes for individuals within the organization, how they will likely respond, and how you plan to manage a team through a change.
• Recommendation for sustained effectiveness

Some examples of possible organizational problems your consulting team can work on:

• Technology is changing the business — in terms of adoption of new technology and/or hiring/firing of individuals due to the change in technology.
• Your business is responsible for a failure of managing environmental resources, the PR around the occurrence has jarred the company’s reputation and distracted employees.
• A startup is 20 employees and 2 years in and needs to formalize processes and revisit the quality of the existing team.

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Your project team will have a maximum of 15-minutes (including Q&A) to present your case-study project to the class. Your presentation should cover each of the primary sections of the case-study and include interactive elements designed to engage with your audience (question and answer, etc.). Each team member should take some active part in the final presentation. Points will not be taken away if the presentation is well organized but not delivered perfectly although you can earn points by presenting a well-rehearsed presentation. The objective of this exercise is to refine your professional communication skills as well as to share your project work with our class. Elements of a successful presentation include:

• Opening which outlines what will be covered in the presentation
• Background of investigation
• Sector and organization overview
• Description of effective organizational competencies
• Exploration of factors driving change
• Consideration of talent cultivation challenges
• Description of day to day management strategy for a team through these changes
• Recommendation for sustained effectiveness
• Summary and closing

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