Suppose you have been hired as a consultant to help a business address a problem by creating solutions that will bring about positive social change?either within the organization or in the surrounding community. You will select one of the businesses to focus on and will develop a set of design documents in which you will analyze the situation, engage in critical and creative thinking activities about the information presented, and develop ideas for how the business can address its problems and bring about positive outcomes.

• CallMe Call Center

Submit Part 1 of the Assignment, which includes the following:

Part 1: Thinking Critically and Creatively

Empathizing: In this section, focus on the company and people, trying to gain an understanding of their needs and wants.

• Analyze the company in your selected scenario and explain at least three initial observations you have about the company and/or the people involved in the scenario.
• Identify at least three people (or groups of people) whom you would interview to gain additional information about the situation and the needs of your client. Provide a rationale for each of your selections.
• Identify at least three biases someone could have and/or assumptions someone could make about the scenario. For example, are there any pre-drawn conclusions that someone might have about the industry, groups of people, or business practices that are discussed in the scenario? (Note: It is important to identify these so that you can construct interview questions that are unbiased.)
• Based on the above, develop at least five interview questions that you would ask of the people involved in the scenario, and explain what insights you would hope to gain from each question. Additionally, if there are any other questions that you would only ask specific individuals, identify what those questions would be and to whom you would ask them.

Filling in the Gaps: In this section, you will aim to fill in some information that you may not have. You will want to do some research relevant to your scenario (possibly about the industry, the location, or other relevant aspects). (Note: Although you do not have access to the individuals mentioned in the scenarios, put yourself in their position, and consider how they might answer the questions you have constructed. You will be assessed on your critical and creative thinking and ability to piece together information, not on having the "right" answers.)

• Analyze the industry in which the scenario is based and explain some common challenges or considerations that apply to that industry. Explain how some of those insights might impact the situation in the scenario you selected.
• Return to the interview questions you developed and do one of the following:
  • Develop a "transcript" of each subject's interview, including the exact response you imagine each interviewee giving if you had actually conducted the interview.
  • List a comprehensive notes section that includes major points you would have documented from your interviews. This could be a bulleted list of points or a narrative summary about each interview.

Define the Problem: In this section, you will narrow down the information you have so far and define the problem in simple terms so that you will be able to move on to the step of addressing it.

• Form a list of all the known and potential issues from the scenario. For each item you list, explain how critical it is to address it, if at all. Then, narrow down the list and choose which issues are the main ones.
• Analyze what potential consequences and/or benefits could result from either addressing or failing to address the issues that are faced in the scenario.
• Compose a multi sentence statement that defines the business problem presented in the scenario. In other words, how would you phrase the problem in a relatable way?

Scenario 2: CallMe Call Center CallMe, a call center company based out of Springfield, Illinois, recently acquired RingRing, a similar call center company in Santiago, Chile. The reason for this acquisition was that CallMe was slated to be awarded a very large contract with a well-known, online retailer and needed to expand its workforce to accommodate the influx of new work while ensuring that the new global team was efficient and well-managed. Although the acquisition initially took place fairly smoothly, the announcement of the impending contract had not yet been communicated, and as a result, the teams of service agents in each location began to wonder why their organizations were undergoing such a big transition. The resulting confusion led to rumors being circulated within both of the larger teams about whether there were going to be layoffs. Despite the leaders' reassurance that the teams had nothing to worry about, morale began to decline, and some tension began to form between the two larger teams. CallMe's new executive team, made up of leaders from both companies, recognized the need for creating a culture where the call center employees could flourish. If such a culture could be created, leadership would be able to successfully implement positive social change within their organization. They have hired you as a consultant to help the company navigate this transition. There are currently two different organizational cultures, and your challenge is to help the company leaders establish a new, unified organizational culture that fosters a positive work environment to include employees from multiple locales, time zones, and cultural origins. Here is a list of issues that company leaders identified: . Teamwork: A strong sense of team is important, and the leaders want to ensure that the newly formed organization will foster that. However, they fear that not only might a cross-location sense of teamwork fail to materialize, but that the existing team cultures will suffer irreparable damage. Work stress: The blending of the two teams has already taken a toll on the employees. Preparing for the new, larger client is likely to result in increased stress levels. If the work becomes too demanding, they could see their turnover rates increase. They do not want to lose their top talent. Strategic planning/operations: The operations at both companies are unique from each other, but the certainty is that they will have to work together in order to meet the needs of the large, online retailer. The current leaders of both teams are unsure what would be the best approach: combining the best aspects of both operations, keeping the operations of both companies separate from each other, or developing a new set of operations altogether. Communicating the integration to employees: What constitutes too little communication, as well as too much? Should they take the same approach in the U.S. office as they do in the Chilean office, or should they devise a different approach? Language barriers: What are some ways they could overcome any language barriers while coordinating with both divisions of the company?Motivation across cultures: How can they focus on keeping their employees motivated, not only through the transition, but also in serving such a large client? In addition to the identified issues, the leadership team also provides you with the results of some employee survey data they collected shortly after the acquisition. The following table includes some general information about the companies prior to the acquisition, as well as a summary of the employee survey responses. Information from CallMe Information from RingRing Operating Hours CallMe's call center is open 24 RingRing's hours are from 9 a.m. hours a day, 7 days a week. They until 6 p.m., Monday through operate on U.S. Central time Friday. They operate on UTC -3 (UTC -6). time. Language 100% of CallMe employees RingRing has always placed an Considerations speak English. Approximately emphasis on hiring for diversity of 15% are fluent Spanish speakers language, and 100% of their as well, but half of them speak employees speak Spanish. Spanish as a second language. Approximately 50% of the call There are some employees who center employees speak English speak Italian, Chinese, as a second language, and that Portuguese, Arabic, and French, percentage is close to 100% for but those individuals comprise managers and executives. less than 1% of their workforce. Approximately 10% of employees Although CallMe does take on can speak Portuguese, Hindi, and some of the Spanish needs in- Arabic; approximately 5% of house, they sub-contract most of employees can speak German, their needs related to other Chinese, and French; and languages to a handful of other approximately 5% of employees international companies. can speak a collection of over 50 languages. Teamwork / CallMe developed an internal While RingRing employees work Independence / workflow that is unique for the in teams, they do so rather Work Methods industry. Most calls are taken by independently. Each of their a team, not an individual. While clients has unique needs, so the phone operator talks with the there is usually a team of people client, at least one other person is assigned to a client's profile, and listening in on the call and people on that team become assisting the phone intimately familiar with the specific representative. The assistant is details of that profile. It isInformation from CallMe Information from RingRing your company that workshops, seminars, and online to commit their time to the you enjoy? classes that are designed to help company. their employees grow as professionals. Survey Question: CallMe employees feel their Employees feel that the bonus What is something company lacks any type of structure is highly subjective and you think your commitment to the community or can often be unfair. Some company is lacking? beyond, even though most employees count on their companies that are of similar size bonuses to supplement an could be recognized for these income that is lower than needed types of efforts. They feel that for performing the job alone, but without that positive message to the criteria for earning the bonus rally behind, it is difficult to feel can feel ambiguous. like the business is worth supporting