Unit 3 Group Project on Strategic Management—description

March 26th, 2012 due April 9th, 2012 (12 p.m.)

The objective for the group project is to gain experience in an applied form in thinking about and using strategic management as a public and nonprofit management organizational change tool.

For our group projects on strategic management, each group will utilize a case titled “Appalachian Mountain Club” located in the Unit 3 / strategic management project area of the course resources area. You will need to create some of your own assumptions if you use this case, so be aware of that going into the assignment. Not everyone is comfortable doing that. Just clarify and record any assumptions that you make.

The project primarily involves thinking about the organization through a strategic management framework similar to the one you are reading about in the Nutt and Backoffchapter in the Unit 3.3 Resources area. You should utilize related worksheets located in the Unit 3 Resources Area (strategic management project).

There is also a practice worksheet to get you started off with Bryson’s/ Nutt and Backoff’s strategic management approach. In that practice worksheet, you’ll think about graduate education in public administration. (You don’t have to turn it in, or even complete it, but it is something easy to think about because we all have experience with higher educational systems!)

To complete the project successfully, you will need to:

  1. Individuallycomplete the worksheets to identify organizational stakeholders; identify swots (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats); external events and trends;and organizational directions (moving from…toward worksheet)relating to the Appalachian Mountain Club; and identify strategic issues and strategic actions for one of these issues.
  2. As a group: After individually completing each worksheet (hold the strategic action worksheet until step 4), utilize the online modified Nominal Group Technique to create group lists of each of these worksheets. There is a separate document with instructions for using NGT online (will be in the Course Resources Area).
  3. Use NGT to Identify a strategic issue for the group to work on further.
  4. Focusing on this one issue, individually complete a worksheet for strategic actions to address this issue. The actions should build on the swots As a group, use NGT and your individual worksheets to brainstorm a list of possible actions. Then polish up the lists.
  5. All that remains for your group to do by the April 9thdeadline is to polish up the listsand to put the lists together in a document. You are only required to develop and assemble these group lists, not write any related texts. If you want to put it in a Powerpoint presentation, you may do so, but it is not required. We will look together at each group’s assessment (but yes, I’ll be reviewing them separately as well).

You’ll need some group process techniques to help you with the related decision processes, and so we will use an approach called Nominal Group Technique, modified for online use, that helps in bringing group discussions to closure. And,you have been refining your group process skills all throughout this course.
The group’s strategic management assessmentwill be due Monday, April 9th, 2012, (noon)which means you have about two weeksto work on it. Be certain to ask when you have questions about the project. I’ll set up a Strategic Management Mini-Project item in the Administrative Questions area so that everyone has access to the questions and answers. I’ll also post an announcement or Administrative Question answer about group project grading, and you can find the information at the end of this document.

I mention in the related Unit 3.3 webpages that each group has the option of conducting the analysis on a nonprofit organization rather than on the case study. A prerequisite for selection: The agency must have a good website with the same type of information that is available in the case. In other words, you need to be able to complete all the related worksheets. If you want to select this option, your group will need to let me know within the first few days you are working on the web-based nonprofit agency assignment. Some incentive for this extra work: if the group takes this option, I will automatically upgrade my evaluation by one/half grade: e.g., if the group project grade assigned is an A-, it will be upgraded to an A. This adjustment compensates the group members for taking on a more complex project than the assigned case study. One type of organization that works best for this assignment is a local or state chapter of a national organization (Ohio or other states’ League of Conservation Voters, MS Society, etc). There are no interviews required if you take this option, although some groups have made related phone calls.

Assessment: the group mini project on strategic management is 15% of the course grade, falling in the participation category. (See course syllabus).

Group Project Grading Criteria 3-7-12

Evaluation components for strategic management group mini project. Specific percentages are not used, but these are the types of items that are a part of Prof. Orosz’ project review and comments to the group and individuals.

Quality of assessment (content)

All of the assessment components are addressed

NGT is utilized (some or all of the SWOTS, issues, actions, stakeholders)

Assessment content is on target (SWOTS issues, actions, stakeholders, external events and trends, etc)

Appearance of document of reasonable quality

Group Process

Appropriate attention is paid to group processes; were any problems appropriately addressed?

Did members value participation by each group member? (Reasonable efforts demonstrated, to include and value participation).

What is the achievement level of the group (some groups are especially high performing—some are unable to get it together)

Were processes used to expand options under consideration (swots, issues, actions, stakeholders related to issues)

Was time allocated for document review and improvement?

Individuals : receive the group grade unless there are problems in these areas

Participation throughout the project period (receives group grade, assigned half or whole grade off, or lower).

Assumes one or more useful group roles,

Communication with group

Shares in responsibilities such as management of data, production of document (fair share across project)

Completion of all worksheets and participation in ranking process

SPEA v502 Competencies related to this project:

This project relates to the following V502 competencies established by SPEA faculty: see especially numbers 3, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, and 14

  1. Becoming familiar with types of partnerships common to the American system of government.
  1. Understanding the evolving role of government within the American political economy, including how government interacts with other sectors to pursue policy goals.
  1. Understanding how to work with stakeholders to achieve government and public goals.
  1. Understanding organizational environments and how these environments shape public action. +This is a major emphasis in the course. +
  1. Developing an appreciation of how technologies are changing service delivery and organizational strategies.
  1. Using analysis and reflection of experiences during semester-long community-based project to understand motivations of social agents
  1. Analyzing different approaches to strategic management and their fit with different contexts.
  1. Using management models to analyze cases and present findings in writing and orally.
  1. Understanding major organizational types and coordination mechanisms. +This is a major emphasis in the course+
  1. Understanding of how different stakeholders can influence mission, governance, strategic planning, evaluation, marketing, and change.
  1. Understand the major theories of collaborative, servant, transactional, and transformational leadership
  1. Undertaking case analyses on leading in complex public contexts.
  1. Experiential learning of group process, negotiation, and conflict management.
  1. Participate in team exercises strengthening abilities to work within a setting with diversity.
  1. Exploring ways to engage citizens in deliberative dialog and policy making.

Strategic management group project description unit 3.3

Sm_grp_project_descp_3_3_sp_2012.doc 3-10-12