. You will put yourself in the position of a member of the leadership team to formulate your analysis and response. Read the background information below and respond to the following three questions (slightly modified from those in the textbook).

This is not a major research project that requires significant amounts of material or knowledge beyond the textbook. You will most likely write one to two paragraphs for each of the three requirements below. Clearly identify the requirements in your response. To organize your response, consider using a heading for each of the three requirements: e.g. Requirement 1, Problem Identification; Requirement 2, Analysis; and Requirement 3, Conclusion. Do not copy anything that was written by someone else because that is plagiarism and a violation of the Universitys standards. The plagiarism detection tool in Dropbox will be used for this assignment.

Background information.

North American Products Corporation is a large company that produces computer equipment. The company does the final assembly in the U.S. using component parts manufactured in company-operated factories across the world. Profitability is very important to the company, but the Board of Directors has made is clear that the company intends to be successful through product innovation and quality and that it will operate ethically with respect to its customers, employees, and the environment. The companys purpose is to improve lives through the use of technology. Financial success is important, but it is not the primary purpose of the company.

The company operates in a decentralized structure. The company appoints a senior management person who is responsible for all aspects of the operations of the location to which she/he is assigned. The senior managers are given authority for all decision making related to their location, and they are evaluated based on their results. If a manager achieves her/his targets and goals, they are given a bonus equal to three times their annual salary, but if they do not achieve their targets and goals, they are demoted and reassigned or terminated.

The company bases their operating targets and goals on the managers ability to keep costs under budget and to avoid fines or lawsuits related to product, employee, or environmental issues. However, North American has been the target of consumer and NGO complaints concerning labor and human rights violations and environmental pollution at some of their locations. While North American has not been sued or fined, the corporate leadership team is concerned that managers at some of its locations have not followed the companys code of conduct related to ethical workplace practices. North American conducted employee focus group sessions at several locations and found out that the managers at the company locations are very aggressive and will do almost anything to make their numbers and avoid litigation so that they can earn their bonus. The focus group participants revealed instances where employees were forced to clock out but were told to keep working. This was done by managers to keep labor costs down. There have also been issues with the use of harassment by factory managers to get more production out of factories, payment of bribes to local officials to overlook labor and environmental violations, and the use of substandard materials to reduce the cost of products manufactured (and thereby increase reported profits).

As part of the corporate leadership team, you will join a task force to address this situation and provide recommendations for ways to correct the problems that the company is facing. Again, profitability and cost control are critical, but North American also wants to operate ethically with respect to its customers, employees, and the environment. The companys leadership understands that it is an important part of the community and that outcomes should contribute to the Common Good. They also understand that they have an opportunity and a responsibility to create meaningful work/jobs for their workers as well as to pay a living wage. (See Principles of Catholic Social Teaching at https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/seven-themes-of-catholic-social-teaching for information.)

You will write a document to submit to this task force that explains and summarizes your ideas and your research. Follow the requirements below in your document.

Requirements.

1. Identify the problem that the leadership team is trying to solve and the stakeholders who have an interest in the company and its operations. Be sure to address the challenges of controlling operations in a decentralized company structure and explain how a company can use metrics or KPIs to manage a large decentralized organization. The specific metrics that are chosen will affect managers decisions and guide their performance! Keep this concept in mind when setting performance expectations and identifying performance metrics. Also, remember that stakeholders are not the same as stockholders stockholders are the owners of the company and represent one stakeholder group. If you are not clear about who might be a stakeholder, take a look at Caux Round Table Principles at https://www.cauxroundtable.org/principles/ for identification of Key Stakeholders.

2. Identify and analyze the options that the company has to solve their problem. There are always multiple options, and the practice that the company is following at the present time may be the best option. Address the pros and cons of the options that you have identified. When you are identifying options, be sure to consider the material in chapter 23 about decentralized operations, the material in chapter 24 about the Balanced Scorecard, and the material that was covered in class and Discussions related to corporate responsibility reporting. Provide specific metrics (KPIs) for operating in a global electronics manufacturing company.

3. Write a conclusion to communicate your findings and recommendations. You will be recommending one solution in your conclusion. Explain your proposed solution and support your recommendation by explaining why it is the best approach.