OL 215 Final Project One Guidelines and Rubric Overview The final project for this course is the creation of a decision-making and principles of management paper. As you continue on your path to earn a degree in business administration, you will deepen your understanding of how effective management is a crucial aspect of overall business success, especially in today's complex business world. As business and society continue to evolve, there will continue to be a demand for managers who are able to organize their resources and strategically implement the functions of management to achieve the goals of an organization. The final paper for the course is divided into two parts: Final Project One and Final Project Two. Both parts of the assessment will focus on decision making and the fundamental principles of management. In Final Project One, with the help of your instructor, you will select a successful company from the list provided. You will analyze the company's best practices and effective implementation of the fundamental principles of management. Final Project One is divided into two milestones which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Module Two and Module Three. Final Project One will be submitted in Module Five. In Final Project Two, with the help of your instructor, you will select a struggling company from the list provided in the Final Project Two Document. You will analyze the company's ineffective implementation of the fundamental principles of management. Once you analyze the struggling company, your task will be to make recommendations for a management improvement plan explaining how the company's management team can improve in areas such as decision making, employee performance, and sustainability. Final Project Two consists of one milestone, which will be submitted to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. The milestone will be submitted in Module Six. Final Project Two will be submitted in Module Eight. In Final Project One, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes: Analyze how an organization's goals influence organizational planning that informs strategic decision making Analyze the functions of management and ethical principles for executing effective decision making in organizations Apply management techniques that ensure the continuous improvement of personnel and business processes to measure organizational performance Apply communication techniques aimed at increasing employee performance, thus achieving organizational goals and objectives Illustrate the important connection between management and organizational culture Prompt Your employer recently conducted an employee survey and the greatest area of concern was related to management. The survey revealed that many employees are not satisfied with management's performance, and the employees feel like the company's poor performance is directly related to a lack of effective management. The general manager has learned that you are currently pursuing a business degree and would like you to champion a team to help improve management's effectiveness. The general manager would first like to understand some best management practices from successful companies. For the first part of the final project, you will identify a successful company. You must select a company from the list of suggested companies below. Resources related specifically to the successful companies listed are provided. SAS Google SAS.com SAS: A New No. 1 Best Employer How SAS Became the World's Best Place to Work An Interview With the Godfather of Data Analytics, SAS's Jim Goodnight Google.com How Google Motivates Their Employees With Rewards and Perks Lessons From Google's Management Style Google's Management Style Grows Up Google's Greatest Innovation May Be Its Management Practice Zappos Zappos.com No Managers Required: How Zappos Ditched the Old Corporate Structure for Something New The Zappos Way of Managing Zappos Company Culture (5:41) Southwest Airlines SouthwestAirlines.com Southwest Airlines Opens for Business - Customers Effective Management at Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines: Strategy Genius or Common Sense? (8:32) Apple Apple.com Apple Management Lessons Every Company Should Steal 8 Management Lessons I Learned Working at Apple Steve Jobs Talks About Managing People (2:26) Once you have selected a successful company, you will then analyze its application of the fundamental principles of management. Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Introduction. Provide a brief overview of the successful company that you have chosen to benchmark for management best practices. Consider including specific examples relating to the fundamental principles of management and the company's mission and vision statement. II. Profile of a Successful Company a. Explain how the company has communicated its mission and vision within the organization. In other words, explain how the company demonstrates the importance of the mission and vision to employees and other stakeholders. b. Identify the role management played in helping this company execute its strategic management plan. Justify your response. You could consider including a specific example of a time when this management plan led the company to success. c. Describe how management has helped to positively influence the organizational culture within this company. You could consider using some specific examples, actions, or strategies that show how management has positively influenced organizational culture. d. Explain management's pivotal role in the decision-making process within this company. Be sure to include specific decisions made by management based on principles of ethics. You could discuss specific decision-making models used by the company that may have helped the company be successful. e. Evaluate how the use of the functions of management within this company has adhered to the principles of ethics. You could consider how using the functions of management while adhering to the principles of ethics may have impacted the employees of the company. f. Explain how this company strategically uses human resources to develop its personnel. You could consider how this use of human resources has enhanced the company's business processes. III. Conclusion a. Summarize how the company utilizes the fundamental principles of management to ensure optimal performance. You could consider the actions taken by this company if optimal performance is not met. b. Analyze the decision-making strategies of the company for how they consider all the parts of the company as an interrelated system. You could consider how the decision-making strategies of the company align with a systems thinking approach. Milestones Milestone One: Introduction of a Successful Company In Module Two, you will submit a one-page (maximum) document that will identify your chosen successful company from the suggested list. You are expected to provide a brief overview of the successful company that you have chosen to benchmark for management best practices. You should also include specific examples related to the fundamental principles of management and the company's mission and vision statement. This milestone will be graded with the Final Project One Milestone One Rubric. Milestone Two: Profile of a Successful Company In Module Three, you will submit a one- to two-page document that will provide a profile of your chosen successful company. This milestone will serve as a rough draft and must cover the six critical elements described in Part II of Final Project One. You are expected to provide a minimum of two to three sentences for each of the six critical elements: mission and vision, strategic management plan, organizational culture, decision making, principle of ethics, and human resources.. This milestone will be graded with the Final Project One Milestone Two Rubric. Final Submission: Application of the Fundamental Principles of Management for a Successful Company In Module Five, you will submit Final Project One. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This assignment will be graded using the Final Project One Rubric. Final Project One Rubric Guidelines for Submission: Final Project One must be three to four pages in length (plus a cover page and references) with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and APA formatting. Include at least two references cited in APA format. Instructor Feedback: This activity uses an integrated rubric in Blackboard. Students can view instructor feedback in the Grade Center. For more information, review these instructions Critical Elements Introduction Successful Company: Mission and Vision Exemplary (100%) Meets \"Proficient\" criteria and includes examples relating to the fundamental principles of management (P-O-L-C) and the company's mission and vision statement Meets \"Proficient\" criteria and details chosen demonstrate insight into how the company crafts its communication for differing audiences Proficient (85%) Provides an overview of the company that was chosen to benchmark for management best practices Needs Improvement (55%) Provides an overview of the company that was chosen to benchmark for management best practices but details lack relevance or are cursory Not Evident (0%) Does not provide an overview of the company that was chosen to benchmark for management best practices Explains how the company has communicated its mission and vision within the organization Explains how the company has communicated its mission and vision within the organization but details are either inaccurate or cursory Does not explain how the company has communicated its mission and vision within the organization Value 7 11 Successful Company: Meets \"Proficient\" criteria and Strategic Management justification includes an example Plan of a time when this management plan led the company to success Successful Company: Meets \"Proficient\" criteria and Organizational Culture includes specific examples, actions, or strategies that show how management has positively influenced the culture Successful Company: Meets \"Proficient\" criteria and Decision Making details discuss decision-making models that have helped the company be successful Successful Company: Principles of Ethics Successful Company: Human Resources Conclusion: Principles of Management Conclusion: Interrelated System Meets \"Proficient\" criteria and details include how using the functions of management while adhering to principles of ethics may have impacted the employees of the company Meets \"Proficient\" criteria and details show insight into how the strategic use of human resources can lead to a company's success Identifies how the company has successfully executed its strategic management plan, justifying response Identifies how the company has successfully executed its strategic management plan but does not justify response or details are inaccurate or cursory Describes how management Describes how management has has helped to positively helped to positively influence the influence the organizational organizational culture within this culture within this company company but details are irrelevant or cursory Explains management's pivotal Explains management's pivotal role in the decision-making role in the decision-making process within this company, process within this company, citing specific decisions made citing decisions made by by management based on management based on principles principles of ethics of ethics but details lack relevance or are cursory or examples lack specificity Evaluates how the use of the Evaluates how the use of the functions of management functions of management within within the company has the company has adhered to adhered to principles of ethics principles of ethics but details are irrelevant or cursory Does not identify how the company has successfully executed its strategic management plan 11 Does not describe how management has helped to positively influence the organizational culture within this company Does not explain management's pivotal role in the decision-making process within this company or cite decisions made by management based on principles of ethics 11 Does not evaluate how the use of the functions of management within the company has adhered to principles of ethics 11 Explains how this company strategically uses human resources to develop its personnel Does not explain how this company strategically uses human resources to develop its personnel 11 Does not summarize how the company utilizes the fundamental principles of management to ensure optimal performance 11 Does not analyze the decisionmaking strategies of the company for how they consider all parts of the company as an interrelated system 11 Explains how this company strategically uses human resources to develop its personnel but details are inaccurate or cursory Meets \"Proficient\" criteria and Summarizes how the company Summarizes how the company details include insight into actions utilizes the fundamental utilizes the fundamental taken by the company if optimal principles of management to principles of management to performance is not met ensure optimal performance ensure optimal performance but details are inaccurate or cursory Meets \"Proficient\" criteria and Analyzes the decision-making Analyzes the decision-making details include how the decision- strategies of the company for strategies of the company for making strategies of the company how they consider all parts of how they consider all parts of the align with a systems thinking the company as an interrelated company as an interrelated approach system system but details are cursory 11 Articulation of Response Submission is free of errors Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization spelling, syntax, or organization and is presented in a professional and easy-to-read format Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas Earned Total 5 100% RUNING HEAD: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SYSTEM Anita Orzel Statistical Analysis System Southern New Hampshire University 1 RUNING HEAD: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SYSTEM 2 Statistical Analysis System SAS is an impeccable company to benchmark for best management practices. SAS is a software company founded in 1976 (AboutSAS.com). SAS software is used by large companies to make business decisions by collecting, and analyzing business data. Over 90 of the top 100 companies listed in Fortune 500 use SAS to analyze business information (AboutSAS.com). In addition, SAS is also recognized as a pioneer in its corporate culture. The main source of this success is the ability of SAS to nurture its most prized resource, its creative assets. These creative assets come through several forms including the organization's culture, HR practices, decision making, strategic management, ethics, and mission and vision. SAS mission and vision statement is; \"SAS delivers proven solutions that drive innovation and improve performance\" (AboutSAS.com). The mission and vision statement is not only written they are believed in. CEO Jim Goodnight philosophy is \"treat employees like they make a difference and they will\" (AboutSas.com). With this philosophy and the company's mission and vision statement it motivates the employees to do great things for the company no matter what position they hold, it makes them feel as they matter and that they are important to the company. This enabled SAS to move their vision to higher reaches outside the US and start serving the entire world with customers in over 148 countries. Strategic management plan contains the preparation and implementation of the primary goals and wits taken by a company's management, grounded on deliberation of properties and an assessment of the internal and external surroundings in which the firm contends. One thing SAS does thrive in is giving its workforces occasions to work on exciting and challenging developments. The software developers have the prospect to develop cutting-edge software to be RUNING HEAD: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SYSTEM 3 used in the world. The corporation makes an effort to concentrate its business in the areas of analytics, which add the most value and help organizations best scrutinize variable data for decision constructing, creating opportunities for SAS workers to be braved and also the company removes employee's obstacles. Eradication of equipment, policies, rules, and meetings that could obstruct efficiency is enhanced. Furthermore, SAS has a \"world-renowned culture based on trust, flexibility and values\" (AboutSAS.com). SAS is committed to a work/life balance and they provide onsite childcare, onsite fitness centers, spa, onsite health clinic, dry cleaners, and a barbershop, (Kaplan, 2010). CEO Mr. Goodnight states \"My chief assets drive out the gate every day, my job is to make sure they come back\" (Kaplan, 2010). The company believes that the employees are their best assets and they are the reason for their success. \"To keep employees challenged we trust and empower them to take risks and innovate. That keeps them happy; and when employees are happy they keep our customers happy.\" (Business Guru Jim Goodnight's Innovative Approach to Leadership 2015). SAS culture is the driving force behind its motivation for creativity. The Human Resources at SAS put a large emphasis on employee satisfaction. Only four years after the company started demonstrates the first evidence of emphasis SAS places on its employees, and the following Human Resource practices occurred when one of its employees became pregnant. That decision gave birth to the company's first day-care center. As many companies look to reduce perks, at SAS they look at these perks as an investment. According to Jenn Mann, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of SAS. \"At SAS, our goal is to offer meaningful work for our employees, an empowering management philosophy, and a worldclass work environment that includes services and benefits to make employees' lives easier at work, as well as in their personal lives. This allows them to be motivated, creative and innovative RUNING HEAD: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SYSTEM 4 in our software development. It's critical for us to provide a workplace that incentivizes great talent.\" These words can be backed up by the fact that the turnover rate at SAS is lowest in their industry at 2-3%. This shows that the employees are extremely happy to work at SAS, and Human Resources pays a major part in this strategy. The managements pivotal role in decision making process at SAS are based on the fact that they believe that people, employees and customers are their best assets. In a statement Mr. Goodnight stated \"Our continued growth in 2009 is further proof that investing in a long term relationship with customers and employees and maintaining a deep commitment in R&D pays\" In 2009, when the economy took a downturn and most companies were laying off, SAS not only had no layoffs they had one of their best years and were ready with new software in 2010. The employees were told that there would be no layoffs and the management wanted them to focus on customers' needs and not be distracted. At SAS they have developed a unique way of managing and leading employees by encouraging innovation and caring attitude. They keep employees intellectually engaged by removing distractions, managers spark creativity, and make customers part of the product development by keeping them engaged, (Florida, Goodnight, 2005). SAS is committed to establishing honesty, fairness and accountability in every decision, including each interaction with its employees, customers, suppliers and competitors (About SAS 2015). These values have an enormous impact on the employees of the company. In 2014, SAS did not have any substantiated and materially negative incidents with regard to public policy, privacy, corruption, ethics, bribery, anti-competitive actions, anti-trust violations or monopoly practices, societal impacts, the environment, labor practices, or employee discrimination or harassment; nor were there any sanctions or fines for noncompliance (About SAS 2015). RUNING HEAD: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SYSTEM 5 The culture at SAS Institute not only views customer communication as an opportunity to fix issues, \"they collaborate with users to invent new solutions\" (Florida & Goodnight, 2005). Managers and leaders live the vision of the company by incorporating it in their daily lives. The company's overall success for over three decades is a direct cause of the strategic management planning. The fact that SAS has the lowest employee turnover, highest customer retention, and it is a largest privately owned company with revenues over $3 billion dollars shows that the management practices are exceptional. Statistical analysis system employs decision-making strategies that help in the running of the organization. The executive feels that mounting an organization data managing and analysis strategy; it can use this knowledge at all comparable levels of the association to reach premeditated objectives put in place. SAS offers a complete submission enabling pronouncements at scale with the following constituents: Data preparation for analytics, retrieving and preparing the right data at the right required time. Enterprise Miner, comprehensive deep modeling of contest areas, including the range of open birthplace analytics contributions. Decision manager, an merger of business rules executive and model supervisor, enables business users to project, test and install decision suites and learn through a response circle. The system thinking approach of SAS will greatly align with the above decision making in the sense that system verdict making compartment results from the effects of strengthening and balancing procedures. Since the start of SAS from 1976, the company has developed an exceptional organizational culture, with a philosophy that focuses on RUNING HEAD: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SYSTEM 6 \"Advancements in analytics technologies make the unimaginable possible. We believe in empowering our employees to change the way the world works and give people The Power to Know\" (Goodnight & Sall). SAS is one of the few companies that truly believe that their success is because of their employees. The creative management techniques of strategic planning, decision making, company culture, employee management, and ethical standards are a direct source of their success. As the company grew it advanced these aspects in a way that they have successfully become one of the largest and most successful software developers in the world. RUNING HEAD: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SYSTEM References AboutSAS. http://www.sas.com/en_us/home.html Business Guru Jim Goodnight's Innovative Approach to Leadership. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.futureofbusinessandtech.com/education-and-careers/business-guru-jimgoodnights-innovative-approach-to-leadership Goodnight, J., Florida, R., 2005. Managing for Creativity. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2005/07/managing-for-creativity Goodnight, J., Sall, J. SAS Leadership. Retrieved from: http://www.sas.com/en_us/company-information/leadership.html Kaplan, D., 2010. SAS: A No. 1 Best Employer. Retrieved from: http://archive.fortune.com/2010/01/21/technology/sas_best_companies.fortune/index.htm Konrad, A. M., Yang, Y., & Maurer, C. C. (2016). Antecedents and outcomes of diversity and equality management systems: An integrated institutional agency and strategic human resource management approach. Human Resource Management, 55(1), 83-107. doi:10.1002/hrm.21713 7 RUNING HEAD: STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SYSTEM 8