Problem Solving within the Workplace Executive Summary
– Using a current or past employment experience OR a company that you are significantly familiar,
– identify either an employee PERFORMANCE or COMMITMENT problem
– Using the content from two other chapters in the textbook (see specific topics listed below), analyze what you believe could be the CAUSES of this problem
– Then, by applying what you have learned from the course content and your own outside-the-box thinking, provide a list of SPECIFIC solutions/suggestions that a manager could do to FIX the performance or commitment problem.
– The final paper must be 1,000 words (excluding title page and references)
– Will be graded 80% on content, 20% on writing quality
Problem Solving within the Workplace Details on Problem Solving Paper
This assignment asks you to apply one topic from the course to attempt to solve a specific problem that exists in
an organization with which you are familiar. That problem should center on either a job performance (as described in CHAPTER 2) issue or an organizational commitment (as described in CHAPTER 3) issue. The final paper should be 1000 words in length (all inclusive).
Your paper can focus on either a current or past employer of yours, or some other company with which you have significant familiarity.
What’s needed is some knowledge of the inner workings of the company–its struggles, its strengths, its climate, and so forth. Your FINAL paper (due at the end of the semester) should include the following four sections:
Problem Solving within the Workplace Final Paper Sections
1) Organization – Provide just enough details on the company for me to be able to understand the problem that will be described. Resist the urge to provide irrelevant details and feel free to omit or disguise any details that might be sensitive in nature. (I will take off points if you spend too much time on this section)
2) Problem – Describe, specifically, one problem that the company is struggling with that will serve as the focus of the paper. That problem should center on either a job performance issue or an organizational commitment issue. Resist the urge to discuss multiple problems–focus on one specific issue with which the organization is struggling. Be sure to focus on a problem that can be impacted by the topics that are to be covered by the rest of the course content.
3) Topics – Choose TWO topics from the list below (from at least TWO different chapters in the textbook), and apply those topics to the problem.
a) Describe very specifically how the concepts, principles, and findings represented in the topic actually matter to the problem, and
b) How they can be leveraged to articulate a solution.
• Value-percept theory (job satisfaction)
• Job characteristics theory (job satisfaction)
• Challenge-hindrance stressors (stress)
• Expectancy theory (motivation)
• Goal setting theory (motivation)
• Equity theory (motivation)
• Psychological empowerment (motivation)
MAN 4151: DETAILS REGARDING FINAL PROBLEM-SOLVING PAPER
• Cognition-based trust (trust & justice)
• Justice (trust & justice)
• Ethical decision making (decision-making)
• Cognitive ability (ability)
• Emotional intelligence (ability)
• Team processes (team processes)
• Types of power (leadership power)
• Transformational leadership (leadership styles)
4) Recommendations-Provide a list of very specific recommendations/ action steps that flow out of the discussion of your two topic(s) and that can help solve the problem. (You will lose points if the suggestions aren’t specific enough for a manager to actually implement). In thinking about how to craft the topic into those recommendations, strike a balance between being practical and being bold. Every organization has key constraints that need to be taken into account when designing interventions. Although those should be considered, resist the urge to “play it safe”, as that tendency often leads to modest interventions that are ultimately ineffective.
Beyond the parameters above, please bring your own self-expression, initiative, and creativity to the content and style of the paper. 80% of the paper grade will revolve around content issues, with 20% revolving around writing style issues.
