Directions

Consider this case study of Fremont, California featured in your textbook and answer the following questions:

When Jan Perkins became city manager of Fremont, California, in 1992, Fremont like many other California cities, was suffering from both economic difficulties and the state’s efforts to pull back the property tax as a source of local government revenue. Yet while city employees were being laid off and services were being reduced, citizen demand for quality public services remained high. More important in Perkins’ mind was the fact that citizens had lost confidence in their government. For both of these reasons, Perkins and other city officials in Fremont recognized that something dramatically different had to be done.

The change process started early in Perkins’ tenure, as one of her council members proposed bringing in an outside consultant (at a cost of $500,000) to diagnose what might be done. Especially because a neighboring city had just done the same thing and failed to adopt a single recommendation, Perkins believed that greater benefits could be obtained by working with those within the city to figure out how the quality and productivity of the city might be improved. A facilitated workshop session involving top elected and appointed officials was devoted to understanding “what we do, how we do it, and why we do it.” From there, the question became, “How can we do it better and how can we become fast and flexible, customer oriented, focused on results, and engaged in important partnerships internally and externally?”

During the 5 years following the workshop, Perkins led a dramatic change in Fremont’s city government – a change built around delivering high-quality services to citizens, creating an internal culture built around continuous and employee-driven improvement, using a highly collaborative approach to decision-making and problem-solving, and building partnerships within the city and with surrounding communities.

The city’s interest in customer service was given initial priority as complaints regarding service quality were heard loud and clear. Perkins and her senior staff began to concentrate on developing a serious philosophical and practical commitment to service quality. The message to employees was that if they saw a way in which the citizens of Fremont could be better served by city government, then they should take action. In addition, the city’s capacity to innovate was aided by a much more collaborative approach to decision-making and problem-solving which cut across traditional organizational boundaries. Whatever their positions, employees were encouraged to think of themselves as representatives of the city and to do what was necessary to provide citizens with the answers they need. This attitude was also supported by a strong emphasis on partnerships and collaborations at many different levels in the organization. Early in the process of labor negotiation, Perkins created joint labor-management committees to consider “quality of work life” issues through a structured problem-solving process known as interest-based bargaining. This collaborative process encourages participants to identify their basic interests (before jumping to solutions) and then to engage in collaborative problem-solving to find a way of accommodating the varied interests represented. Interest-based bargaining was so highly successful in labor-management relations that the same approach has been encouraged throughout city government. Training in the process has been offered to all employees of the city, and interest-based bargaining has become a standard way of doing business in Fremont.

The same approach to building partnerships through collaborative efforts is used as the city relates to citizens and to other nearby governmental entities. City employees do not just inform citizens about what is going to be done to them. They also go out and ask citizens what they want and then balance those interests with those of the city. Beyond that, city employees and citizens engage in interest-based problem-solving even around issues of how to design a process to involve the public. The city engineer commented, “We do more than tell them what we are going to do. We go out now and involve them in the design of the process itself. The process is laid out by the people involved.”

1. What apprehensions or resistance to change do you find present in this case example? Provide specific examples from the textbook and case study.
2. Of the approaches to bringing about change discussed in our assigned textbook reading, analyze the leadership strategies and techniques that Perkins employed in bringing about successful organizational change. Provide specific examples from the textbook and case study.
3. Reflecting on the differences between not for profit and for profit organizations, do you think that Perkins would have been as successful in creating a highly collaborative, employee-driven change if the organization was a private, for profit entity? Why or why not?
4. Complete the attached self-quiz for your own records and reflection, Orientation Toward Change Self-Quiz. What did you discover about your own orientation to change? How will you use what you have learned about yourself to effectively lead others toward change?

Format

Students should use the following format for their written assignment.

• Your paper must include three to four pages of written content.
• Use APA format and cite sources, as necessary.
• In addition to the 2 to 3 pages of written content, please include:
  1. Title Page
  2. Appropriate Headings and Sub-Headings
  3. Reference Page (minimum of 2 scholarly references)
• Use a minimum of 2 scholarly references—scholarly references can include peer-reviewed articles, textbook, journals, and included supplemental resources.

Discussion 1

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, please read the article by Hayley Peterson, 15 Companies That Are Defying the Retail Meltdown by Opening Hundreds of New Stores (Links to an external site.).

While many retailers are closing stores, some are rapidly building new locations, with at least one—Dollar General (NYSE: DG)—adding as many as 900 stores this year (Peterson, 2018).

Obtain Dollar General’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2017. Form 10-K can be obtained either from the SEC (Links to an external site.)’s EDGAR Filing system or the “Investor Relations” link on the company’s website at www.dollargeneral.com (Links to an external site.). Read the “Growth Strategies” and the “Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows” sections of Dollar General’s 10-K Form to answer the following questions in an initial post of at least 200 words:

• How many stores is Dollar General planning to open during its 2018 and 2019 fiscal years? By what percentage would these new stores increase the size of the company?
• How much cash did General Dollar spend on investing activities during its 2016, 2017, and 2018 fiscal years? Do you think the amount spent on investing activities represents the full costs that General Dollar incurred to open new stores? Explain you answer.
• Where did General Dollar get the cash used to make these investments?

Discussion 2

Prior to beginning work on this discussion, please read the article Capital Investment Appraisal Techniques: A Survey of Current Usage (Links to an external site.) by Sangster (1993).

After setting the company’s goals, managers evaluate capital investment projects and decide which should be funded. Suppose a company has four different capital budgeting projects from which to choose but has constrained funds and cannot implement all of the projects.

The following table contains information about four projects in which X Corporation has the opportunity to invest. This information is based on estimates that different managers have prepared about the company’s potential project.

Project

Investment Required

Net Present Value

Life of Project

Internal Rate of Return

Profitability Index

Payback Period in Years

Accounting Rate of Return

A

$ 226,000

$ 36,908

5

21%

1.17

2.97

20%

B

$ 406,000

$ 50,740

6

24%

1.13

3.13

15%

C

$1,040,000

$152,325

3

19%

1.16

2.18

14%

D

$1,630,000

$ 19,870

4

14%

1.02

3.00

23%

Part 1: Rank the four projects in order of preference by using the following table:

(a)
Net Present Value

(b)
Profitability Index

(c)
Internal Rate of Return

(d)
Payback Period

(e)
Average Rate of Return

1st preferred

Project A, B, C, or D?

2nd preferred

3rd preferred

4th preferred

Part 2: Write a response in an initial post of at least 200 words discussing the usefulness of capital investment techniques (net present value, profitability index, internal rate of return, payback period, and average rate of return) in selecting the four alternative investment opportunities in part 1.

 
Prepare:

Watch the GEN103 Scholarly & Popular Resources (Links to an external site.) and How to Read a Scholarly Article (Links to an external site.) videos, and review the Source Types handout,

Read this scholarly, peer-reviewed article:

Ajunwa, I., Crawford, K., & Ford, J. S. (2016). Health and big data: An ethical framework for health information collection by corporate wellness programs. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 44(3), 474–480. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073110516667943

Depending on first letter of your last name, read one of the following:

• A-I
  • Ajunwa, I. (2017, January 19). Workplace wellness programs could be putting your health data at risk (Links to an external site.). Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/01/workplace-wellness-programs-could-be-putting-your-health-data-at-risk
• J-Q
  • Hancock, J. (2015, October 2). Workplace wellness programs put employee privacy at risk (Links to an external site.). CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/28/health/workplace-wellness-privacy-risk-exclusive/index.html
• R-Z
  • Hannon, K., & Next Avenue. (2016, May 29). New rules on wellness programs spark privacy worries (Links to an external site.). Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2016/05/29/new-rules-on-wellness-programs-spark-privacy-worries/#6fc33f205ad5

Reflect: You read two articles that address the same topic but are different types of sources. Consider the following questions:

• What characteristics make the sources different?
• How do those differences add to or detract from the credibility of the sources?
• How could you use each of the sources in school, at work, or in your personal life? Think of at least two specific examples.

Write:  Based on your learning in the Prepare and Reflect sections above, write at least three paragraphs that fully address the prompt below. Cite any sources you use or refer to.

1. Identify the type of source you read in addition to the scholarly, peer-reviewed article. Who is the audience for each source? How does the intended audience affect the choice of language, images, and organization?
2. Analyze the credibility of the two sources that you read. What specific features of the articles led you to conclude the source was or was not credible? Provide at least one specific example for each source.
3. Explain how each source might be used to address a specific information need. What research situations would be appropriate for each source? What concerns would you have about using the sources in those situations?

Your initial post must be at least 350 words and address all of the prompt’s elements.

You must cite and reference any sources that you use in your posts, including your textbook or any other sources of information that you use. Please refer to the Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) and Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) for help with citing and referencing your sources

 
Prepare:

Watch the GEN103 Scholarly & Popular Resources (Links to an external site.) and How to Read a Scholarly Article (Links to an external site.) videos, and review the Source Types handout,

Read this scholarly, peer-reviewed article:

Ajunwa, I., Crawford, K., & Ford, J. S. (2016). Health and big data: An ethical framework for health information collection by corporate wellness programs. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 44(3), 474–480. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073110516667943

Depending on first letter of your last name, read one of the following:

• A-I
  • Ajunwa, I. (2017, January 19). Workplace wellness programs could be putting your health data at risk (Links to an external site.). Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/01/workplace-wellness-programs-could-be-putting-your-health-data-at-risk
• J-Q
  • Hancock, J. (2015, October 2). Workplace wellness programs put employee privacy at risk (Links to an external site.). CNN. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/28/health/workplace-wellness-privacy-risk-exclusive/index.html
• R-Z
  • Hannon, K., & Next Avenue. (2016, May 29). New rules on wellness programs spark privacy worries (Links to an external site.). Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2016/05/29/new-rules-on-wellness-programs-spark-privacy-worries/#6fc33f205ad5

Reflect: You read two articles that address the same topic but are different types of sources. Consider the following questions:

• What characteristics make the sources different?
• How do those differences add to or detract from the credibility of the sources?
• How could you use each of the sources in school, at work, or in your personal life? Think of at least two specific examples.

Write:  Based on your learning in the Prepare and Reflect sections above, write at least three paragraphs that fully address the prompt below. Cite any sources you use or refer to.

1. Identify the type of source you read in addition to the scholarly, peer-reviewed article. Who is the audience for each source? How does the intended audience affect the choice of language, images, and organization?
2. Analyze the credibility of the two sources that you read. What specific features of the articles led you to conclude the source was or was not credible? Provide at least one specific example for each source.
3. Explain how each source might be used to address a specific information need. What research situations would be appropriate for each source? What concerns would you have about using the sources in those situations?

Your initial post must be at least 350 words and address all of the prompt’s elements.

You must cite and reference any sources that you use in your posts, including your textbook or any other sources of information that you use. Please refer to the Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) and Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) for help with citing and referencing your sources