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Assignment 1: Staffing Plan for a Growing Business

Scenario 1

You are a Human Resources Manager of an expanding technology company consisting of 170 employees that develops and distributes small electronic devices. Over the past two (2) years, a research group formed, designed, and built prototypes of small remote surveillance cameras used for security. Recently, your company won a contract to build and provide these remote surveillance cameras to various government agencies. The contract will begin with your company supplying these cameras to agencies within your home state. If all orders are fulfilled sufficiently, the contract will be expanded to supplying agencies outside of your home state.

For the immediate future, you will need to secure a larger facility and hire more staff to sustain the first part of the contract. This staff will consist of ten (10) Assembly Technicians, one (1) Certified Quality Control Engineer, one (1) Contract Administrator, and one (1) Office Support Paraprofessional. Meanwhile, there is a contract clause requiring that you provide a staffing plan in order to ensure future product deliveries and sustain the possible future growth.

Write a four to five (4-5) page paper in which you:

1. Identify two (2) types of staffing models that could apply to your chosen scenario and determine which model would be best suited for efficiency, productivity, and possible future growth. Examine the significant effect of each identified staffing model on processes that may be occurring within the organization (e.g., outsourcing, contingent workers, consulting firms, etc.).
2. Predict the major potential legal issues that you may encounter when establishing equal employment opportunities and diversity within the workplace while still aiming to acquire employees with the needed certifications and credentials. Next, explain the method of achieving transparency within your staffing model. Justify your response.
3. Specify three (3) tasks that you need to perform to identify, analyze, and develop job requirements and task statements that you will include in formalized job descriptions. Next, predict the frequency with which you would need to review and adjust these job descriptions as your company progresses. Provide a rationale for your response.
4. Describe three (3) methods to deal with high employee turnover and the availability of employees with required knowledge, skills, or abilities. Next, describe the primary manner in which the described succession-planning methods would be beneficial to your company. Justify your response.
5. Go to https://research.strayer.edu to locate at least three (3) quality resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and similar websites do not qualify as quality resources.
6. Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
   • Typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
   • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
   • Include a reference page. Citations and references must follow the Strayer Writing Standards. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
   • This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The format is different than other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS documentation for details.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Explain the role of staffing to support an organization’s strategy and improve productivity.
• Develop a model for staffing an organization that supports the firm’s human resources management strategy and sustains productive operations.
• Summarize the key legal compliance issues associated with staffing organizations.
• Explain the planning considerations for staffing organizations, the use of job analysis, and the components of a staffing plan.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in staffing organizations.
• Write clearly and concisely about staffing organizations using proper writing mechanics.

This week’s written activity is a three-part activity. You will respond to three separate prompts but prepare your paper as one research paper. Be sure to include at least one scholarly reference per prompt, in addition to your textbook (which means you’ll have at least 4 sources cited).

Start your paper with an introductory paragraph.

Prompt 1 “Data Warehouse Architecture” (2-3 pages): Explain the major components of a data warehouse architecture, including the various forms of data transformations needed to prepare data for a data warehouse. Also, describe in your own words current key trends in data warehousing.

Prompt 2 “Big Data” (2-3 pages): Describe your understanding of big data and give an example of how you’ve seen big data used either personally or professionally. In your view, what demands is big data placing on organizations and data management technology?

Prompt 3 “Green Computing” (2-3 pages): One of our topics in Chapter 13 surrounds IT Green Computing. The need for green computing is becoming more obvious considering the amount of power needed to drive our computers, servers, routers, switches, and data centers. Discuss ways in which organizations can make their data centers “green”. In your discussion, find an example of an organization that has already implemented IT green computing strategies successfully. Discuss that organization and share your link. You can find examples in the UC Library.

Conclude your paper with a detailed conclusion section.

The paper needs to be approximately 7-10 pages long, including both a title page and a references page (for a total of 9-12 pages). Be sure to use proper APA formatting and citations to avoid plagiarism.

Your paper should meet the following requirements:

• Be approximately seven to ten pages in length, not including the abstract, required cover page or reference page.

• Follow APA guidelines. Your paper should include an introduction, a body with fully developed content, and a conclusion.

• Support your answers with the readings from the course, the course textbook, and at least three scholarly journal articles to support your positions, claims, and observations, in addition to your textbook. The UC Library is a great place to find supplemental resources.

• Be clearly and well-written, concise, and logical, using excellent grammar and style techniques. You are being graded in part on the quality of your writing.

Project 2 Goals (Outcomes)

• Gain a better understanding of document design and data visualizations
• Write for a specific purpose and audience
• Create appropriate visuals from numeric data
• Use visuals to support a specific point or argument
• Analyze visuals to integrate data into an argument
• Apply design principles to create a visually appealing, persuasive document

Project 2 Description

This project asks you to engage with data, present data for a specific audience, and practice making effective data visualizations. The project focuses on:

• the fair, accurate, and ethical use of data
• how to design effective visualizations
• the conventions of writing with numbers and data
• how to integrate figures into a document.

Audience and purpose are central to the goal of the final deliverables. As you will learn by completing this project, numbers don’t speak for themselves. Writing with data requires critical and rhetorical thought, as well as visual design skills.

While working on this project, you will engage with different types of visuals, as well as the conventions of writing with data and numbers. To achieve these goals, you will select a data set from those listed below. After reviewing the data set you select, you will decide on an argument (thesis) you want to make for a specific audience using the data provided. You will then make decisions about which data to visualize from the larger data set and you will create three data visualizations help illustrate your argument visually. Finally, you will write about and analyze that data in brief final visual report.

The final visual report you create will include the three visuals you have made and the supporting text necessary to explain the data you have visualized and make your point.

In addition to the visual report, you also will create a second deliverable: a reflective memo of about 250-500 words. Similar to the PAD memo in the first project, this reflective memo will explain your choices and goals and how the visual report deliverable achieves them.

Data visualizations bring a number of benefits to any professional document, even short ones:

• Though they have become extremely easy to make, people in the workplace still tend to be impressed by the extra effort and thoughtful presentation implicit in making a visualization.
• Data visualizations also help to make the work of digesting and interpreting data more efficient by displaying trends or illustrating the significance of specific information without poring over page after page of numbers.
• Because of this efficiency, visual elements are also better at communicating certain ideas more quickly than words or tabular data. Something that may take many sentences to communicate, a sudden drop in the efficiency of a process, or a surge in sales among a certain demographic, are instantly recognizable as spikes or dips along the X axis of a line graph.

For example:

This short report from the Department of Education (Links to an external site.) provides an overview of literacy and numeracy for men and women. In this online short report, the authors created two bar charts that are designed to show relationships between data and then they briefly explain the importance of the data.

In your visual report, you will create three visualizations and integrate them into your report, providing an introduction to the topic and analysis of the data you include to make a point about the topic using your data.

Project 2 Assignment Instructions

For this project, you will select a data set from the ones listed below and create a short (approximately two-page) informational report that includes at least three data visualizations that you create and that you feel best communicates the data you select from your data set in a form that maximizes the impact of the data to suit a specific audience and purpose.

To create your visualizations and informational report, please select one of the following data sets:

• Pew Trust Core Trends in Technology and the Internet
• Pew Trust Cybersecurity
• Pew Science Trends
• CDC Obesity and Dietary Trends
• CDC Substance Abuse
• Unicef Literacy Rates and Gender

• Census Bureau Place of Birth and Poverty
• FBI Crime in the US
• Pew Trust Global Economic Attitudes

Once you have selected a data set, spend some time with the data. Identify the trends that jump out at you as most significant. As you identify your audience, think about who would want to know about the data and the point you’d like to make. You will not be able to visualize or discuss all the data in your data set. Your job is to select and visualize the data that is most relevant to your audience and the point you are making.

Deliverables

Document 1: Visual Report with 3 Data Visualizations

A short, informative, visually interesting report that makes a point about your subject using the data in your data set. This report should incorporate at three visuals that you have created along with analysis of the data in your figures. The text in your report should:

• introduce the topic and its importance
• explain the meaning of each of the three visuals
• point to the conclusions suggested by the data.

You should identify a clear audience. Your understanding of the audience informs how the data is presented, the form the visualizations take, and the point you use the data to make, as well as the overall purpose of the document.

Document 2: Reflective Analysis

A 250-500 word memo that explains the following. Use memo headings to identify each of the topics listed below. Format the memo like a memo.

• How and why you selected your data set
• How you selected which data to visualize and why you visualized it in the form you did
• Who was your target audience and what was your overall goal/purpose
• How you ensured that your visualizations of the data were fair, accurate, and clear
• A link to the raw data set used to create the report (with a citation for the data)

Data Visualization Tools

The following tools may be useful in creating your visualizations. There are other tools and apps that you can use, instead. The important thing is to create three original, effective visualizations using the data you have chosen.

• (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)Infogram: https://infogram.com (Links to an external site.)
• Canva: https://www.canva.com (Links to an external site.)
• Piktochart: https://piktochart.com (Links to an external site.)
• Easelly: https://www.easel.ly (Links to an external site.)
• (Links to an external site.)Microsoft Excel (with minor modifications) makes excellent charts and graphs that can easily be copied and pasted into documents.
• Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator (available for students through Adobe Creative Cloud) also have graphics features.

Does Forever 21 Foster Positivity?

Forever 21 was founded in downtown Los Angeles in 1984 by a Korean-American immigrant couple, Do Won Chang and Jin Sook. They are known as Mr. and Mrs. Chang and still run the privately held company. Today, it employs about 35,000 people and runs 600 stores worldwide, with operations in the United States, Canada, China, Europe, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Latin America, Mexico, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom.161 The company made about $4.5 billion in 2015.

The Changs are born-again Christians and try to run their business using Christian values. Mrs. Chang told Bloomberg Businessweek that she prayed about whether to open their first store. God told her to do so and promised she would succeed. The couple attend a daily prayer meeting at their church, where Mr. Chang leads a Bible study and Mrs. Chang is a deacon. The pastor noted that the Changs have contributed millions of dollars to worldwide missions.

The Changs’ faith is represented in their stores, where every bright yellow shopping bag includes a reference to John 3:16. This Bible verse says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”162

FOREVER 21’S KEY VALUES

1. Supplier and Vendor Social Compliance and Ethical Sourcing. The company commits to caring “not only for our employees but also for the employees of hundreds of vendor manufacturing facilities throughout the world which make our products. We want all of these employees also to work in safe and healthy environments.”
2. Support Charities. “At Forever 21, one of our core values is to encourage giving, to lend a helping hand to those who need it most.”
3. Environmental Sustainability. “Forever 21 is committed to reducing its environmental footprint throughout its global operations.”163

ARE THESE VALUES BEING LIVED AT THE COMPANY?

Forever 21 has experienced a number of lawsuits and controversies regarding different aspects of its operations.

• The US Department of Labor issued a subpoena in 2012 to force Forever 21 to reveal “how much the company’s suppliers pay the workers who make its clothes. Anecdotal evidence suggests the salaries are well under the current US federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.” After the company failed to provide the information, a US District Court judge ordered the company to provide the requested data.164
• A class-action lawsuit accuses the company of “failing to provide meal breaks, rest periods and overtime wages. Plaintiffs … claim that requisite bonuses weren’t paid which qualify as overtime, and that the company failed to cover business expenses as required under law.” Although the case has not been settled, plaintiffs “may be entitled to up to $4,000 in penalties as well as any due wages.”165
• The company decided to reclassify 1 percent of its workforce to part-time status, working a maximum of 29.5 hours a week. This level of work is just “under the 30-hour full-time designation assigned by the Affordable Care Act, which requires companies who employ 50 or more workers to provide health insurance coverage for their full-time employees or face a penalty. Newly part-time workers who were enrolled in medical, dental, vision and voluntary plans will also see their coverage cut off on August 31 [2013], and they won’t be able to receive paid time off.”166 These actions led to a social media firestorm, resulting in comments such as, “A true Christian thinks of others first and is not greedy. Tell me, just how rich do you need to be?” Another person wrote, “Jesus Christ would never, NEVER do this to anyone, ever.”167
• Forever 21 agreed to pay $100,000 in penalties to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for safety violations at its Westfarms Mall store in Farmington, Connecticut. A store inspection revealed that emergency exits and hallways were blocked by store inventory. Boxes were “piled as high as 10 feet and stacked in an unstable manner so that they blocked exit routes or could fall onto workers. The company contested the citations and penalties but has now reached an agreement in which it agrees to abate the cited hazards.”168 The company has been cited 12 times for similar violations at other locations.169
• Page 291Two recent lawsuits involve LGBTQ issues. Mickael Louis claimed extensive harassment that occurred while he was working at Forever 21 in Brooklyn. One boss said, “I love muscular black guys like you,” and another showed him “cell phone videos of him having sex with men.” Louis’s boss “constantly addressed Louis as ‘Honey,’ [and] another manager—Andy Liu—allegedly came up with a different offensive nickname—‘Nutella.’” Liu also told Louis, “Look out for the black people, they are going to steal.”170 The second case pertains to Alexia Daskalakis, 22, formerly known as Anthony Daskalakis. Daskalakis claimed her problem began when she began transitioning to a woman. Her boss allegedly started treating her with “‘increasing contempt’—yelling at her in front of coworkers and calling her ‘useless.’” Another manager called her a “hot mess.” She was ultimately fired.171
• A former employee sued Forever 21 because it allegedly requires “employees to be on call for shifts but does not compensate them for it.” The employee said, “These on-call shifts are no different than regular shifts, and Forever 21 has misclassified them in order to avoid paying reporting time in accordance with [California] law.” One expert suggested that the company “appears to be in direct violation of California law, which requires that employees be compensated with ‘reporting time pay’ (which is equivalent to their regular hourly rate) for being required to report to work but being asked to work less than half the actual shift.”172
• The company was sued by other companies and labels such as H&M, Diane von Furstenberg, Anna Sui, and Anthropologie (50 in all) for copying their clothes. H&M, for example, sued for “copyright infringement, false designation of origin and unfair competition.” H&M claims Forever 21 copied its Beach Please tote bag. Von Furstenberg, Sui, and Anthropologie won settlements.173

WHAT ARE EMPLOYEES SAYING ABOUT THE COMPANY?

Here is what employees wrote on Glassdoor and Indeed.com in 2016:174

Pros: “Great management staff, everyone really tries to do the right thing.” “Everything is always new and interesting, there is never a dull moment!” “Flexible schedule and fast environment.” “First dibs on new clothes.” “I enjoy all my coworkers; it isn’t hard for me to get along with people.”

Cons: “Zero support or direction from corporate and district managers, technology lacks compared to other stores and sales suffer.” “It is difficult to attain a good work–life balance with consistent overnight shifts and last minute schedule.” “No structure and no recognition.” “Ugly acting people. Everyone is miserable from the customers to the employees. . . . Place is always messy.” “The management at this job, for the most part, is not the best. They don’t always treat everyone fairly, including each other.”

APPLY THE 3-STEP PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH TO OB

Step 1: Define the problem.

1. Look first at the Outcomes box of the Organizing Framework in Figure 7.4 to help identify the important problem(s) in this case. Remember that a problem is a gap between a desired and a current state. State your problem as a gap, and be sure to consider all three levels. If more than one desired outcome is not being accomplished, decide which one is most important and focus on it for steps 2 and 3.
2. Cases have protagonists (key players), and problems are generally viewed from a particular protagonist’s perspective. Identify the perspective from which you’re defining the problem—is it that of the Changs, employees, or other labels and retailers?
3. Use details in the case to identify the key problem. Don’t assume, infer, or create problems that are not included in the case.
4. To refine your choice, ask yourself, Why is this a problem? Explaining why helps refine and focus your thinking. Focus on topics in the current chapter, because we generally select cases that illustrate concepts in the current chapter.

Step 2: Identify causes of the problem by using material from this chapter, summarized in the Organizing Framework shown in Figure 7.4. Causes will appear in either the Inputs box or the Processes box.

1. Start by looking at Figure 7.4 to identify which person factors, if any, are most likely causes of the defined problem. For each cause, ask, Why is this a cause of the problem?Asking why multiple times is more likely to lead you to root causes of the problem.
2. Follow the same process for the situation factors.
3. Now consider the Processes box shown in Figure 7.4. For any concept that might be a cause, ask yourself, Why is this a cause? Again, do this for several iterations to arrive at root causes.
4. To check the accuracy or appropriateness of the causes, map them onto the defined problem.

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Step 3: Make your recommendations for solving the problem. Consider whether you want to resolve it, solve it, or dissolve it (see Section 1.5). Which recommendation is desirable and feasible?

1. Given the causes identified in Step 2, what are your best recommendations? Use the content in Chapter 7 or one of the earlier chapters to propose a solution.
2. You may find potential solutions in the OB in Action boxes and Applying OB boxes within this chapter. These features provide insights into what other individuals or companies are doing in relationship to the topic at hand.
3. Create an action plan for implementing your recommendations.

19 mins ago