Elements of the ProjectYou will analyze your company in light of key concepts learned during the semester, and may also use knowledge gained from past courses to substantively evaluate your company. Study the company in terms of its history, background, vision, mission, goals, strategies, structure, ethical climate, human resources practices, etc. Use the bullet points below to guide the development of your report. Much of the information is available online, but you may use other resources, including in-person interviews and library research, to gather information about your company.

• Introduction

• Describe the firm (e.g. when it was established, type of industry or industries, products/services provided, number of employees, sales/profits using current financial data available, etc.). 

• Who are the firm’s principal competitors and how well has the firm performed recently compared to competitors (i.e. has it outperformed or underperformed competitors?).

• Provide examples of how the CEO and/or other managers have performed one or more of the basic functions of management (planning, organizing, leading, controlling) for the firm.
• Planning and Strategic Management

• What are the firm’s mission, vision, values, and major goals, and do you think it is living up to these? Provide supporting information 

• Perform a SWOT analysis of the firm (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats).

• What is the business-level strategy of this firm (e.g. cost leader? differentiator? other?). In your opinion, does this strategy create additional value, boosting the profitability of the enterprise, or is it destroying value and lowering profitability?
• Ethics and Social Responsibility

• How would you characterize the ethical climate of the firm? Is there a Code of Ethics, and are there policies related to ethics in the workplace? If so, provide a summary.

• How important is ethical leadership to you personally? Discuss the organizational impacts of ethical and unethical leadership in general, and share information about ethical leadership specific to your organization if it is available.

• Discuss the negative organizational impacts of unethical behavior (hint: review the chapter lecture covering different types of workplace deviance). If you’re unable to find information about your organization related to the negative organizational impacts of unethical behavior, that’s okay. Just include a discussion about this in general using information from the lecture.

• Has your firm been the focus of any adverse ethical issues in recent years (look at historic news reports, online resources, etc.)? If so, try to determine whether this was due to isolated actions of rogue managers or organization-wide problems.

• Does the firm invest in activities related to social responsibility that go beyond its narrow economic self-interest? If so, what are they and who are the beneficiaries of these investments? ALSO, take a high-level personal position on social responsibility, and provide justification for your position.
• Human Resource Management

• What is the firm’s strategy for human resource management? What challenges (if any) does the firm anticipate in filling management and other positions over the next few years? What is the firm’s main approach for staffing/recruiting? 

• To what extent does the firm emphasize the development of its workforce, and what training methods appear to be most widely used. 

• Share about your firm’s diversity program (or lack thereof) aimed at creating a positive work environment in which differences are respected, and employees feel comfortable to contribute to achieving common goals despite our differences (age, gender, racial, ethnicity, etc.).
• Leadership

• Who is the firm’s CEO, and how long has he/she been in this position? What has been the career track of the CEO (e.g. experience and educational background, other jobs at this firm or other firms leading up to the CEO position, etc.)? 

• What can you find out about the vision of the CEO? How would you characterize his/her way of leading and managing the organization? If possible, describe this leadership approach using one of the leadership models provided in the text or from other sources.

• In your opinion, is the CEO an effective leader? Share about his/her success or lack thereof.

Grading Criteria for the ProjectYou will submit a 10page report (double-spaced) not including the title page, references, and appendices. The main body of the report cannot include tables, pictures, figures, etc. but you may incorporate any of these in an appendix. The report must include all bulleted elements listed above. This project is worth a significant percentage of your overall course grade, and if your report indicates you put in the time and effort, you have the potential of maximizing your points.Your final report should be proofread, free of grammatical errors, and must include proper citations using APA standards (both in-text and works cited page). A SafeAssign originality report will be generated following the submission of your project in Blackboard. The following criteria and rubric serve as the basis for evaluating your project:Clarity, organization, format, and professionalism (50 total points possible):

• Clear writing style and logical flow of writing; all sections follow a logical sequence (5 points)
• Use of headings and subheadings (but not in excess); clear transitions between sections; paragraphs are focused (5 points)
• Numbered pages (5 points)
• Correct grammar, punctuation, spelling; words are appropriate and used correctly (10 points)
• Double-spaced throughout and between paragraphs and sections (5 points)
• 12-point Times New Roman font and one-inch margins (5 points)
• No images in the body of the document (if images will add to the expression of your ideas, provide them in the appendices only) (5 points)
• Proper use/format of APA standards (in-text and works cited page) (10 points)

Thoroughness (100 total points possible):

• Main ideas are clear and consistent with the purpose of the assignment, with complete coverage of all required elements listed below as outlined in the syllabus; supporting evidence is relevant/adequate, and conclusions are consistent with cited evidence.
• Introduction (20 points)
• Planning & Strategic Management (20 points)
• Ethics and Social Responsibility (20 points)
• Human Resource Management (20 points)
• Leadership (20 points)

Quality (50 total points possible):

• Degree of effort, care and critical thought put into the portfolio (15 points)
• Depth of review demonstrated by incorporated knowledge and insights gained from the course, assigned chapter readings, and other research (20 points)
• Creativity and variety shown in developing the portfolio (15 points