Reference no: EM132250567

Employee Development Contributes to Winning the Battle Against Cancer The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nonprofit, nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to creating a world without cancer. ACS strives to save lives by helping people stay well, and get well, by finding cures for cancer, and helping those who have cancer to fight the disease. ACS is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and has regional and local offices throughout the United States that support 11 geographical divisions to ensure a presence Page 414in every community. The corporate office in Atlanta is responsible for overall strategic planning, corporate support services including training, development, and implementation of research programs, health programs, a 24-hour call center, and providing technical support and materials to regional and local offices. Regional and local offices deliver patient programs and services and engage in fundraising activities. The philosophy of the talent development department is to provide “the right learning solution at the right time for the right person.” One guiding principle is to support and drive the business through employee development and training. Another is that ACS wants employees to grow and develop, which is captured by the slogan “save lives, fulfill yours.’’ Staff are encouraged to participate in leadership development, mentoring, coaching, and job-specific training classes. For staff interested in pursuing formal education, ACS has partnerships with online universities. Also, staff are encouraged to work with their manager to establish clear professional and development goals which map a path to career success. At ACS it is important for training and development programs to be realistic in terms of taking into account budgetary constraints and job responsibilities. The programs need to be both efficient and effective and minimize the time that staff members are taken away from their primary responsibilities such as helping patients, working with community, and planning and carrying out fundraising events. All delivered content is evaluated on the extent to which it is related to the job, staff member performance, and the organization’s mission. The Nationwide Manager Development Program is designed to help build management strength for ACS. The program is marketed as an “adventure in management” and its design is intended to make training engaging, enjoyable, and enriching for the participants. The 18-month program helps participants learn management concepts using virtual discussion forums and e-learning. Also, participants are put into learning teams including members representing a diversity of thought, tenure, and experience. These teams engage in action learning, which focuses on developing management skills while developing solutions to business issues and problems facing ACS.

QUESTIONS:

1. ACS uses a number of development activities to develop staff members’ management and leadership skills. Explain how succession planning would be useful along with these activities for reviewing, preparing, and identifying leadership talent at ACS.

2. What can ACS do to ensure that women and minorities have a real potential to reach upper-level management positions?

The central components of your analysis should be about 500 words and include issue identification, issue analysis, solutions, and potential limitations to your solutions.

Please use and cite at least 3 or more sources in APA format, using in-text citing as well.