Reference no: EM132272378

FINAL PROJECT PLAN

Required content of this plan:

Background

Describe only two or three current trends and events of the industry environment that may affect the client organization

Organization: United States Army

Background:

The current trends that may affect the organization is the current state of affairs with North Korea, Russia and China.

Client Organization

? Location and contact information of the organization

? Describe only what the organization does, how long it has been around

? Organization chart

? Members of the organization: number of employees, typical duties, demographics

If you have targeted a division of a large organization, describe both the division and the organization: Look the bottom part of the table on p. 126.

Here is the Know-How you need to follow to make an excellent OD consulting report.

Client Organization

Location: 230 R T Jones Rd, Mountain View, CA 94043

Description of Organization:

The United States Army is the largest military branch, strength for the Regular Army (USA) was 476,000 soldiers; the Army National Guard (ARNG) had 343,000 soldiers and the United States Army Reserve(USAR) had 199,000 soldiers; the combined-component strength of the U.S. Army is around 1,018,000 soldiers and has been an organization since 1776, around 243 years old.

The United States Army is the land warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces that is responsible for the national defense of the United States of America whether it be foreign or domestic.

It is also responsible for supporting national policies, implementing the national objectives as well as overcoming any nations that are responsible for aggressive acts that affect the world. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States. Other branches include Air Force, Marines and Navy.

It has around 800 military bases around the world in more than 70 countries. The reason we chose this organization is because it is the oldest organization in the united states and has a hierarchical structure that almost every business model is made after.

Methodology

1. The interview to identify the presenting and the underlying problems

When setting an appointment, explain the client that you will ask about his/her current work problems or opportunities for improvement. Give the client some time to reflect on different issues and to come prepared for your interview. Find other advices regarding your meeting with the client in Ch. 6 in the textbook.

Begin your interview with asking the client about the work-related problems that he/she has been experiencing recently. Managers usually focus on current problems rather, than on opportunities for future advancement, expansion. Most likely, the client would mention three to four problems.

a) The interview with the client will include questions from two sources.

• First, the questions listed in the upper part of the table on p. 126 in your textbook.

• Second, for recognizing the needs for organization improvement, formulate 3 questions within eachbox of the diagnostic model that you have chosen from Ch. 4. To perform an organizational analysis, I advise you to choose the Nadler-Tushman Model, The Six-Box Weisbord Model, or the McKinsey Seven-S Model.

Some models would be challenging for you, and I advise you to not choose them for making the organizational analysis. For example, the Burke-Litwin Model is an excellent tool but is very complex and you need to create a very long questionnaire. K. Lewin's Model is too general, so you should develop some categories to learn about the problems

b) Ask the client to differentiate among the problems (a) the problem on the surface (i.e. the presenting issue) and (b) the reasons for the presenting problem (i.e. the underlying problems). Keep in mind that your client manager is the source of information; donot make your own interpretations of the problems sincethis is not an ethical approach in OD consulting.

c) Ask the client to list and explain the symptoms of the problems/opportunities.

d) Ask the client to explain you how the presenting and the underlying problems are connected. These connections will demonstrate the pattern of typical problems that your client encounters regularly.

Note: You will use the same questions for identifying the needs for improvement related to the model boxes for the subordinate survey, slightly reformulated!

2. The Data Gathering Process

Alternatives to collect the data you need:

? The interview(s) could be conducted face-to-face in the work setting or online - Skype, or similar online software. Recently many organizations use online tools to save their time and money. Emailing questions and answers has a limited potential for obtaining the additional information you may need.

Additional sources of data gathering:

(1) The website of the organization: the rubrics About, Press Releases, or other rubrics

(2) The databases Lexis-Nexis Academics or EBSCO which provide useful data or organizations profiles.

Diagnostic Plan

Required parts:

• Provide detail how you will select 25-30 members of the organization to participate in your survey.

• Describe the interview with the manager and the survey with subordinates that you plan to use for data collection. You can conduct observation too.

• Include all the questions that you intend to use and group them into the categories of the model for diagnosis you have chosen

• Explain how you will ensure confidentiality and anonymity of the participants in your survey.

• Append a copy of the contract signed by your client and the team members. Include the name(s) of the manager(s), title(s), and the email address for your client.

You need my approval of your initial and final plans to start working on your term group project!