Org 6503 Organizational Theory, Design and Change

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Written Assignments

 

Class:  Org 6503 Organizational Theory, Design and Change

Case Study: Organizational Analysis at Creative Colors

Creative Colors (a fictitious company) sells art supplies through three retail stores in the State of Washington as well as online. In addition, the company offers classes in painting, sculpting, graphic design, and ceramics at its flagship store in Seattle. Over the past two years, the company has suffered from shrinking sales and declining revenues in retail stores; at the same time, inventory costs have been growing. Enrollment in arts classes has remained steady and strong. However, the classes are operated on a break-even basis, so their profitability depends in large part on the volume of supplies that students purchase from the retail or online operation after participating in a class. Online sales continue to grow 2% to 3% each year. 

The owner of Creative Colors must implement cost savings measures. She has decided to cut 25% of the company’s managerial positions and reorganize the remaining positions so that the organization still exercises adequate supervision and control over its employees. This will allow Creative Colors to refocus its efforts on expanding online sales while rebuilding its retail sales operation. The owner has hired you to give her advice about how to proceed. 

In a paper of at least 6 – 8 pages (excluding title and references pages), describe how you would go about analyzing the organizational hierarchy to make recommendations about which managerial positions should be cut. What organizational design principles will you consider in your analysis? How will you balance the need for the company to downsize with the understanding that many employee positions require specialized knowledge? How will you ensure that the appropriate levels of authority and control are maintained and that adequate levels of employee supervision are ensured? What ethical considerations will you and the owner need to keep in mind when making decisions about which managers will lose their jobs? Provide a rationale for your decision-making process and your recommendations to the owner of Creative Colors. For this paper, reference three sources in addition to required course readings. 

 

 

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Written Assignment Grading Criteria

Content Criteria

 

Paper describes a thoughtful approach for analyzing the hierarchical structure of the organization described in the assignment.

 

Paper demonstrates an understanding of organizational design principles.

 

Paper articulates a rational approach for restructuring and downsizing the organization described in the assignment.

 

Paper discusses the ethical considerations involved in the decision-making processes associated with the case study.

 

Paper provides a sound rationale for the recommendations made to the owner of the organization described in the assignment.

 

Writing and Organization Criteria

 

The central theme/purpose of the paper is clear.

 

The structure is clear, logical, and easy to follow.

 

The tone is appropriate to the content and assignment.

 

The thoughts are clear and include appropriate beginning, development, and conclusion.

 

Paragraph transitions are present, logical, and maintain the flow throughout the paper.

 

Sentences are complete, clear, and concise.

 

Sentences are well constructed, with consistently strong, varied sentences.

 

Sentence transitions are present and maintain the flow of thought.

 

Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed.

 

The paper uses words and language that are inclusive, clear, and unambiguous.

 

Spelling is correct.

 

Research Criteria

 

The paper includes a summary and analysis of research materials that are relevant to the assignment, e.g. scholarly journals, professional articles, legal documents, government documents, legal decisions, media clips, software, measurement instruments websites, personal communication, etc.

 

Professional/scholarly journals are peer reviewed and focus on the profession/application of psychology (located on Proquest, EBSCOHost, PsycNET, etc.). Non-scholarly articles include newspapers, periodicals, secular magazines, etc, and are not peer reviewed. Websites not approved include wilkipedia.com andabout.com.

 

Research focuses on the most current information (past five to ten years) except when citing seminal works (e.g. Freud, Erickson, etc.).

 

Paper includes the appropriate number of references required by the assignment.

 

When appropriate, the paper addresses ethical considerations in research.

 

Style Criteria

 

The paper is in the appropriate APA format used by the institution/program (e.g. the 6th edition).

 

The paper is double-spaced and in the appropriate length required by the assignment

 

The paper includes an APA style cover page.

 

The paper includes an Abstract that is formatted to support the appropriate version of APA Publication Manual (e.g. 6th edition).

 

The paper properly uses headings, font styles, and white space as outlined in the appropriate version of APA Publication Manual (e.g. 6th edition).

 

The paper includes an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.

 

The paper addresses the topic of the paper with critical thought.

 

The paper concludes with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph.

 

Citations of original works within the body of the paper follow the appropriate version of APA Publication Manual (e.g. 6th edition) guidelines.

 

The paper includes a References Page that is completed according to the appropriate version of APA Publication Manual (e.g. 6th edition).