Assignment #1 - Design an Internal Communications Protocol (15%)

This assignment relates to the following Course Learning Requirements:

CLR2 - Develop team skills and processes

Objective of this Assignment: To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of tools, approaches, and techniques to support the adoption of effective communications tools and protocols.

For this assignment, read the following scenario:

• You are a manager at a mid-sized mining company specializing in risky exploration projects and the construction of mines in remote and dangerous workplaces.
• The jobs available to your employee group carry heightened-risks and workplace injury does occur in some cases because of high-risk situations. The safety record of the company is good due to the organization's ability to mitigate issues.
• The organization handles extremely dangerous and sensitive materials that are used in the development of projects causing emotional toll and stress on the employee group.

• One day after a particularly stressful week, an employee is involved in a critical incident leaving him permanently paralyzed, and unable to work for your organization any longer.

• Your team has become somewhat desensitized to this outcome and so an announcement is made, and the team moves on.

• This time though, employees are tired, emotional, and angry. They are stating that management does not seem to care about their well-being. Employees are not trusting managers within the organization.

• You assess the situation and realize that the original communication about the incident is not empathetic, is one-way in nature, and comes across as mechanical.

• You recognize that you need to implement a new communication protocol to remedy this from happening again. To support this, you take on the implementation of a new communication process and protocol.

Step 1:

• Design a Communication Protocol and Process reference tool that supports positive team dynamics and the adoption of positive communication strategies that reinforce organizational behaviour and culture. . The reference tool can be a series of bulleted or numbered steps, a tabular reference or an imported Visio or other graphical reference that you have built as an original format.

• The tool must be detailed and encompass (at a minimum) a set of steps and communication tools that will be used to communicate worker injuries, health and safety issues and other critical incidents to employees.

• How will these be planned, written and dispersed? Go step-by-step.

• These details must articulated andwritten down; linked to building worker understanding and buy-in; and include metrics on how success in achieving the communications goals and feedback will be considered and implemented.

• You must design the protocol from the scenario provided above. If there is information that you require that is not noted in the scenario, just make your own assumptions but ensure to note them in your assignment.

Step 2:

1. The assignment details should be captured in approximately 1500 words (not including the cover or reference page information - see below). It will be marked based on the rubric below.
2. Your assignment is to be submitted in MS WORD format. It should be submitted with the following guidelines:
   • Include a cover page with the course code and course name, the assignment number, the title of your assignment, your student ID, your name, the instructor's name, and the date the assignment is created.
   • Ensure the first page of your writing assignment has the title at the top of the page and the sections of your report have headings and subheadings to chunk your paper into sections for each of the topics you are writing about.
   • Your assignment will include both an executive summary and a Conclusions section. Your conclusions will be personal i.e., you will identify key learning pieces that you personally are taking away from having completed this assignment
   • Font should be either Calibri or Arial, 11pt. Text must be double spaced, but table may be single spaced.
   • You must cite all your sources of information using APA formatting.
   • Create a separate reference page that lists all of your sources that you have cited in text. Sources include software used. Also, personal communications from a professional in the field count as a reference source. For citation and referencing examples, seehttps://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
   • Use your text and Module notes as the core references for your assignment.
   • Your assignment will be scanned by "Turnitin," which is the software app used to detect "similarity" between your assignment and previously submitted documents and assignments. You will receive a Similarity rating and Report when you submit your assignment. If you receive a 30+% Turnitin rating, then revise and edit your assignment to lower your rating score. Do not submit an assignment with a Turnitin rating of 30%+.

Additional Guidance

The purpose of this assignment is for you to demonstrate your ability to define and apply concepts and models that you are learning on this course. The bulk of the assignment is based on your ability to provide rationale for using communication concepts and models. You are developing a communication protocol for responding to staff after a critical incident has taken place. The scenario is your key source of information and direction. What is the scenario telling you? You have a team of employees that are tired, emotional, and angry. They do not trust management and are pointing out that the current communication is impersonal and mechanical.

Be careful to not fall into the trap of designing a tool to be used by employees in reporting an accident. This is not the purpose of the assignment. A critical incident has just occurred---staff are angry, stressed, and emotional. That anger is being directed at management and the latest communique was not well-received by staff.

In your role as Manager, you will develop a communications tool that will be used when there is a critical incident and staff need to be notified. You will explain the rationale for putting together your communications and you will use communication concepts and models. Ask your self, what would you do as a manager to communicate with your employees, put those ideas into a communication tool and explain your rationale using concepts and models you have learned.

As an example, one of your steps might be to have an all-staff in-person meeting within 24 hours of the incident. What communication tools and models would you consider when making that decision to hold an in-person meeting. Media Richness makes sense as a model to use to explain the medium that you have chosen. You want your communication tool to generate employee "buy-in." What concepts and tools can you use to work on buy-in by your employees? You have learned about persuasive communication. How might that apply.

There is likely a lot of noise in the communication process at the moment---what models and concepts can you use to manage the noise and have the employees regain their trust of management?

The formula you should use for every assignment is to name and define a concept or model before applying it to the scenario. So, define communication early in your assignment, look at barriers like noise, define models like media richness and persuasive communication and apply them and define any other model you are planning to use.

The communication tool should be comprehensive and build on each step e.g., within 24 hours the following activities will take place---and within 36 hours, this communication will be completed, within a week this communication will take place. Abd for every action planned you will explain the rationale using models and concepts that you have been learning.

Make sure you complete each of the assignment tasks as well. You are asked to develop metrics in how to measure success with your communication protocols. Make sure you demonstrate what your definition of success is and how you plan to measure it.

Assignment Grading Rubric (15%)

Criteria	Excellent 80-100%	Good 50-79%	Requires Improvement <50%	Points
Assignment Quality	The assignment content demonstrates an exceptional understanding of the concepts and themes regarding workplace communications protocols and processes All ideas are clearly developed, organized logically, and connected with effective transitions Explores ideas, supports points fully using a balance of evidence, uses effective reasoning to make useful distinctions All relevant course and topic links are made	The assignment content demonstrates a good understanding of the l concepts and themes regarding workplace communications protocols and processes Some unified and coherent ideas are developed with effective transitions Supports most ideas with effective examples, and/or references, and details, makes key distinctions Most relevant course and topic links are made	The assignment content demonstrates some understanding of the concepts and themes regarding workplace communications protocols and processes Develops and organizes ideas that are not necessarily connected. Some ideas seem illogical and/or unrelated Presents ideas in general terms, most ideas are inconsistent/unsupported, and reasoning is flawed or unclear Some or no relevant course and topic links are made	/4
Comments
Assignment Knowledge and Skills Demonstration	Clear, concise synthesis of course content to demonstrate understanding of topic All ideas are clearly developed, organized logically, and connected with effective transitions Explores ideas, supports points fully using a balance of evidence, Uses effective reasoning to make useful distinctions All relevant course and topic links are made	Evidence of some synthesis of course content to demonstrate understanding of topic Some unified and coherent ideas are developed with effective transitions Supports most ideas with effective examples, and/or references, and details, makes key distinctions Most relevant course and topic links are made	Lack of evidence or weakness in the synthesis of course content to demonstrate understanding of topic Develops and organizes ideas that are not necessarily connected. Some ideas seem illogical and/or unrelated Presents ideas in general terms, Most ideas are inconsistent/unsupported, and reasoning is flawed or unclear Some or no relevant course and topic links are made	/8
Comments
Assignment Structure	Formatted as per assignment details Structure and format enhances delivery of the information Clear language is used which leads to easy readability Correct grammar and spelling is consistently used No issues with APA using citations or references.	Formatted as per assignment details in most components Structure and format fits well with the delivery of the information Mostly clear language is used with minor readability issues Few or no spelling and/or grammatical errors Minor issues with APA citations or references	Formatting has not been followed Structure and format is unclear and impedes delivery of the information Language used is often unclear which impedes readability Many spelling and grammatical errors Incorrect use of APA formatting for citations and references[1]	/3
Comments
Total Points				10

[1]If there is evidence of missing citations or references, this could constitute plagiarism and will receive a grade of '0'. The regulations of academic dishonesty will apply.