Planning

  
Develop three goals for two functional areas within an organization and identify activities that support achievement of each goal, using strategic alignment worksheets. Then write a 2–3 page summary analysis of the strategic alignment work you did.
Note: The assessments in this course build upon each other, so you are strongly encouraged to complete them in sequence.

Effective management encompasses four principal elements: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the limited resources of an organization to achieve stated goals. This assessment focuses on the first of these elements: planning.
An important responsibility of managers is to communicate the organizational vision, mission, and goals, and develop and execute strategies for achieving them. For this assessment, you will take on the role of a manager in a case study scenario, to plan how you will communicate goals to your team and develop achievement strategies and criteria. Your job as the department manager is to convert the organizational goals you have been given into departmental activities that can be accomplished and measured, and to align the daily activities of your department with the overall company goals.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

 

Competency 1: Evaluate the purpose and relevance of management roles.

Analyze factors that define and shape management in the human resources functional area.
Analyze factors that define and shape management in a declared functional area.

Competency 2: Evaluate how planning and decision-making influence the roles of a manager.

Analyze the value of planning in strategic management.
Create management goals for a human resources functional area.
Create management goals for a declared functional area.
Identify activities to achieve chosen goals for a declared functional area.
Identify activities to achieve chosen goals for a human resources functional area.

 
As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment.

Reflect on a time when you were part of a team that was assigned to make a decision. What were the circumstances? How did the process work? Were you in agreement with the decision? What were the results or effects of the decision? What would you have done differently?

 
Case Study Introduction
In this course, you will complete four assessments based on the Corporation case study. Based on the scenario provided in the Corporation materials, you will simulate an organization-wide strategy of goal setting and achievement by creating alignment between daily activities, department objectives, and organizational goals. As a manager of the fictional Corporation, you will examine two functional areas within the organization:

The human resources functional area.

 

Sales and marketing.

 For each functional area (both the human resources area and your additional chosen functional area), you will create a strategic alignment worksheet (SAW), developing different sections of both forms through successive course assessments. You will also create organizational charts for both functional areas.  

 Preperation:

Download worksheets: Download the strategic alignment worksheets for your chosen functional area and for the human resources area. 

Read transcripts at the end of this question It will introduce the corporation case study.

Read the AC_DOC1 and AC_DOC2 provided in the documents 

  Conduct independent research to familiarize yourself with the process of developing organizational project goals and activities. 

 Complete Section 1: Goals and Activities in the strategic alignment worksheet (SAW) for both functional areas. For this assessment, complete only Section 1 in each worksheet. 

 

Develop three new departmental goals (in addition to those provided in the worksheets).
Identify activities that support achievement of each goal, and list the achievement deadline for completing each activity.

 
consider that you were asked to assist an executive of the organization in establishing management goals and supporting activities for two functional areas of the organization. You will be acting as the interim department manager of each. Write a 2–3 -page summary analysis of the work you just completed for your Strategic Alignment Worksheets (SAWs). The executive is the primary audience for your summary, but he indicated he would likely share it with other key executives. To provide the executive with the best possible understanding of your work, your summary should address the following points:

For the human resources functional area, analyze factors that define and shape management (such as the economy, customer needs and wants, and innovation). For that same functional area, assess the relative influence of these factors (which of them have more impact than others).
For the second functional area you selected, analyze factors that define and shape management (such as the economy, customer needs and wants, and innovation). For that same functional area, assess the relative influence of these factors (which of them have more impact than others).
Analyze the value of planning in strategic management and the risks of not planning. As part of that, describe how planning is important to the achievement of organizational goals.
Indicate the research you used to support your work in arriving at the goals and activities.
Describe the current or past experience (if any) you used as the basis for this activity.

Based on an executive audience, your summary should be well organized and written in clear, succinct language. Follow APA rules for attributing sources that support your analysis and conclusions.

Transcripts are as followed

Transcipt 1: 
Good Afternoon one and all!
I have asked all of my mangers, from the vice presidents to my department managers, to be here today, so that I can share with you an exciting vision for Corporation.
I have just recently completed negotiations with a venture capitalist to provide us with the financial resources necessary to achieve an unprecedented goal: to double our company sales in the next fiscal year, beginning 90 days from today.
You are expected to complete this year’s business on a strong note. You will be required to develop plans to add critical equipment and staff, so that we are hitting next year’s goals from the first day of our next business cycle.
Each of you will need to evaluate the organizational structure that you have now, allocate existing and new resources, both human and equipment, to provide for the greatest efficiencies and productivity possible.
I have prepared a list of functional area goals for each of you to accomplish. Those goals are in the manager information packet that is available in front of you there. Each functional area vice-president will have specific goals, which are impacted by the goals, objectives, and activities of the other functional areas. You will have to work closely with each other in order to ensure company success.
We have employee performance problems in most of our functional areas. You will need to evaluate the source of those problems, and develop a strategy to increase employee responses from their current levels.
Working with Human Resources, you will need to properly utilize your existing staff, and hire new people to accomplish your goals.
My family and I have invested everything we have into this effort… failure is not an option for us! As members of the management team, you will take your functional area goals and convert them to actionable plans in alignment with our company goals. Help them reach those goals — because their success is our success! Now, let’s get after it!

Transcript 2:
 
One role of corporate leadership is to articulate a vision, define the mission, and establish goals for the organization. This is accomplished through effective communication, among other things. At some point, management must convert these goals into getting things done.
Management encompasses four principle elements; to plan, organize, lead, and control the limited resources of an organization, to achieve the stated goals.
The first of those elements is to plan. That is the focus of this week’s lecture.
Think of the management cycle of plan, organize, lead, and control, as a circle.
At the top of the circle is plan, the activity of developing a strategy for accomplishing the goals assigned to management.
This is like tasking a military unit with taking a hill. Soldiers in the unit do not ask why, they just figure out how to get it done! The corporate leadership staff doesn’t have to care how the task is achieved, as long as it is accomplished within the established boundaries or rules of engagement. Management must quickly and accurately complete an assessment of current capabilities, including available resources, and an analysis of the barriers to success. They allocate assets, identify critical activities, and define the tasks required to support those activities.