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Responding to Conflict Essay Help

Responding to Conflict Essay Help

Write a 4-5 page analysis and a response e-mail to address a growing controversy depicted in the Riverbend City: Communication and Organizational Effectiveness scenario.

Introduction

While communication (or lack of it) can often cause workplace conflict, it can also be the solution for addressing it. Knowing how to communicate in increasingly stressful environments is a skill that will serve you well both professionally and personally.

Overview

Responding effectively to a situation rife with conflict requires a variety of communication techniques. In this assessment, you will analyze and respond to a growing controversy depicted in the Riverbend City: Communication and Organizational Effectiveness scenario by writing a team communication and subsequently analyzing your approach to devising it.

Scenario

Imagine you just came back from lunch and found the email string regarding the proposed EOC staff meeting related in the scenario. It\’s your plan to address the situation, and it\’s your intent to do it in a single email that demonstrates leadership and a keen understanding of the issue, participants, and their associated dynamics.

Instructions

Complete both parts of this assessment.

Part 1: Analyze Your Approach to the Issue

Describe your approach to constructing your email.

  • Describe possible causes for the caustic exchange depicted in the email chain. Consider possible core organizational issues. State any assumptions that you might need to make regarding the scenario to support your assertions.
  • Justify why your message would likely be effective. Consider content, tone, style, et cetera.
  • Explain your intent for how your message might impact future communications and actions among team members.

Part 2: Write a Response Email

Write an email that effectively addresses the email chain. It should:

  • Properly consider the audience, your position, and the circumstances.
  • Articulate a well-conceived solution to the problem.
  • Effectively end the thread completely and de-escalate the tension.
  • Send a message that this exchange was \”sub-optimal.\”

Additional Requirements

The assessment is expected to meet the following requirements:

  • Font: Times New Roman, 12 point.
  • Length: 4–5 pages, double spaced.

Portfolio Prompt: You should consider adding this assessment to your personal ePortfolio. For more information, visit the Campus ePortfolio page.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

  • Competency 1: Analyze business communication situations.
    • Describe possible causes for the caustic exchange depicted in the email chain.
    • Explain why a message would likely be effective.
  • Competency 2: Apply fundamental principles of organizational communication.
    • Write an email that meets specified criteria.
  • Competency 3: Analyze the interrelationships of communication within organizational systems.
    • Describe likely core organizational issues that were exposed by the original email.
    • Describes how a message might plausibly affect future communications and actions among team members.
  • Competency 5: Communicate effectively and professionally.
    • Convey clear meaning with grammar, usage, word choice, and mechanics.
    • PLEASE MAKE SURE THE COMPETENCIES ARE ASWERED .

Explore Riverbend City: Communication and Organizational Effectiveness.(SCENERIO)

INTRO

Communication and Organizational Effectiveness

There\’s been a major rapid onset flood in Brown Trout Bay, a rural community with a population of about 3,000, located fifty miles from the major metropolitan area of Riverbend City. Roads and bridges are out, and the water supply for much of the city has been compromised. The county\’s emergency operations center (EOC) has been activated, and a Leadership Team is being assembled to address the crisis. You are in charge of this leadership team.

Leading a group of people who have a variety of communication styles can be a challenge—whether you\’re leading a casual neighborhood committee meeting or a response to a citywide disaster. As you coordinate this Leadership Team, you will have to work effectively with eight people who have very different communication styles. As a leader, you will need to develop a strategy for working effectively with this group of people.

Inbox – (1)

Leading the Emergency Operations Team

From: Mayor Brian Nicollet

To:

I\’m so glad to hear that you\’ve agreed to facilitate our team of emergency managers. Each member of the team represents an Emergency Support Function (ESF) as defined by FEMA. As the leader of the EOC group, your goal is to help this group leverage their collective expertise to distribute clean water efficiently to the people in Brown Trout Bay. I\’m confident that with your help, this team will be able to work together efficiently to get this done.

As you work with this group of individuals, please keep in mind that this is a diverse group. As is the case with all working groups, you\’re going to find these individuals have a variety of communication styles. Because this group needs to get to work immediately, you\’re going to have to figure out quickly what each individual\’s communication style is—and you\’re going to have to come up with a strategy for working effectively with this particular group of people and their combination of communication styles.

Best of luck! I know I can count on you.

—Brian

VIDEO TRANSCRIBE (NEWS)

Victoria Moran: Welcome back to WNRT\’s continuing coverage of the Brown Trout Bay flood. We have word that the city and county are working together to address the issue of providing potable water to residents in the affected neighborhoods. Joining me now to discuss the situation is Brian Nicollet, the mayor of Brown Trout Bay. Brian, can you tell me what\’s going on with the city\’s water supply?

Brian Nicollet: Well, as you know, citizens in affected areas have been without water for about 24 hours now. Dodd County has activated its Emergency Operations Center to address this issue.

Victoria Moran: Brian, why is it that there are so many residents remaining in affected neighborhoods after your office issued a mandatory evacuation order?

Brian Nicollet: Well, unfortunately, whenever you have a rapid onset emergency like this one, not all residents will follow evacuation orders. In some cases, people refuse to leave, but more often than not, people who stay can\’t leave—they don\’t have cars, for instance. We also have residents remaining in the city in hospitals and nursing facilities. We were very fortunate that the flooding was not on a magnitude anywhere near that of Hurricane Katrina, and as you know, there were no casualties. However, the city\’s water supply has been compromised, and we need to restore that as soon as possible—and while that process takes place, we have to distribute water to Brown Trout Bay residents.

Victoria Moran: How do you plan to do this?

Brian Nicollet: Well, as I said, Dodd County has activated their Emergency Operations Center, and the city is working closely with the county. We\’re assembling a team of individuals who represent a number of emergency service functions, and these individuals will be meeting later today to address the water situation.

Victoria Moran: Who is in charge of this group?

Brian Nicollet: The mayor has assigned an experienced leader to this team. I am confident this leader will do an excellent job guiding this team as they address the crucial issue of distributing water to the residents of Brown Trout Bay.

Leadership Team

Now it\’s time for you to meet the members of your leadership team! You will need to figure out how to work effectively with these people to distribute water to the residents of Brown Trout Bay. Listen to what each of these people has to say about themselves, and see what you can learn about their communication styles.

Melanie Cohen(Executive Director, Dodd County Transportation System)

If you ask my colleagues, I\’m sure they\’ll tell you that I\’m very organized and thorough. I come to every meeting with a detailed agenda. Also, as a leader, it\’s very important for me to set clear objectives for my employees so that they know exactly what\’s expected of them. I think they appreciate that—at least, I hope they do. I wouldn\’t consider myself a demanding supervisor, but it\’s very important to me that people understand their roles and my expectations.

And—well, this is kind of comical—I\’m so organized that I have to straighten up my desk every single day before I go home. If I don\’t, I\’m in a terrible mood the next morning when I come into a desk with a few loose paperclips on it. That\’s kind of sad, huh? My desk is full of every kind of filing system and organizer imaginable…seriously, if I can\’t find out where to put something, I\’ve been known to stop at an office supply store on the way home to pick up another organizing device. (laughs) At least I can laugh at myself, huh? I guess it\’s appropriate that I\’m the person in charge of the bus system. Because nobody likes it when their busses don\’t follow an exact schedule, right? And believe me, I\’m big on schedules. I get so annoyed when people are late. Too annoyed, really. People have good reasons to be late sometimes, and I have to remind myself of that a lot.

Rodney Saunders (Chief Engineer for Dodd County)

It\’s nice to meet you. You want me to tell you a little about myself? Not to be stereotypical, but most engineers don\’t say more than we need to. Not a lot of small talk in my office. Don\’t get me wrong—we\’re always up for a good happy hour, but when it comes to work, we\’re pretty heads down. I like people okay, but what I really like is figuring out how to keep bridges from falling apart. Being an engineer is like one big math problem—our challenge is to figure out the most efficient ways of doing things and then to follow through on that.

Matthew Chu (Executive Director, Department of Business and Professional Regulation)

It\’s so nice to meet you! I know you\’re going to do a great job getting this team to work together—and I\’m so glad I was asked to be on this team. I know that this is a difficult time in Brown Trout Bay, and I\’m excited and honored to have the opportunity to help. This is going to be such a terrific challenge!

So you want to know a little about me? Well, I guess you could say I\’m pretty spontaneous. I have a master\’s degree in entrepreneurship—don\’t even ask me how I wound up in government! I work best when I have the opportunity to think on my feet. I think that\’s the most important skill for people working in business these days, or really for any organization—I mean, things change fast in this world, and everyone needs to be flexible when it comes to figuring things out. I do get frustrated with government sometimes because there are so many rules and regulations, and sometimes those rules don\’t make any sense and it takes forever to change them

Sophia Perez(Chief Liaison for the Dodd County Department of Planning)

So you want to know a little bit about me? That\’s a question I don\’t hear very often. I like to keep my personal life and my private life separate. It\’s not that I\’m not a friendly person. It\’s just that I take my job seriously. County planning work is very important and the public relies on us. I want to spend my time figuring out how to help people—not socializing. We did these personality assessments at work recently, and that annoyed me. I get annoyed when I\’m asked to do things that aren\’t relevant to getting work done. That\’s what\’s important.

Lisa Truman(Director of Dodd County Department of Public Health)

It\’s so nice to meet you. Can I get you anything? No? I\’m so glad to hear that you\’re going to be directing this group during the flood response. Please let me know if you need anything. The group of people we\’re going to be working with—well, there\’s some strong personalities in the group. They\’re all great, don\’t get me wrong. I truly believe that everyone in this group has the best interests of the public in mind. But not everyone agrees on how to make that happen…well, you\’ll see. Like I said, if you need help figuring this group out, just let me know.

I\’m glad you\’re asking people to tell you a little about themselves. It\’s so important for leaders to have a good sense of the people on their teams. Especially in a situation like this one, where a good deal is at stake and you have to pull together a group at the last minute.

But anyway, you asked about me. Hmmm…I guess I would say that I\’m friendly. I like working with people very much. That\’s one of the things I like best about my job. In public health, you get to collaborate with schools, with businesses, with other government offices. Recently we had an opportunity to collaborate with a school district that has a high incidence of childhood diabetes. I had the opportunity to talk to parents and teachers and kids and listen to them talk about their needs. It was so rewarding to work with the community to come up with some solutions together.

Brad Nygard (Administrator, Dodd County Planning Division)

I guess you could say I\’m a straightforward guy. Very much so. I know I get on people\’s nerves sometimes because I say what I mean. I get really annoyed with passive-aggressive stuff—you know, when people beat around the bush and you have to translate what they\’re really trying to say? That\’s just wasting time. I actually got into trouble with that at my kid\’s school. I wanted to know if he was eligible for this program, and I went to talk to a teacher about it. And the answer was actually \”no,\” my kid wasn\’t eligible. But the teacher wouldn\’t just come out and say that. She kept going on and on about policy, and finally I just said, look, lady, is my kid eligible, yes or no? And she looked at me like I hit her or something. So ridiculous.

And the thing is… I mean, I\’m fine with the fact that my kid wasn\’t eligible. Those are the rules and I respect that. I mean, that\’s one of the things I like best about working for government. There are guidelines you have to follow because it\’s the law. There aren\’t a lot of gray areas—and if there are gray areas, you talk to a lawyer or some other expert to figure out what to do. I work with oil and hazardous materials. When you\’re talking about an oil leak, there\’s no gray area about how to deal with it. There are firm guidelines, established by the government to protect the public\’s safety. I get annoyed by people who like to think outside of the box too much—I don\’t even like that phrase! There\’s a time and a place for being creative, like if you\’re painting a mural or something. But when you\’re talking about an emergency like this flood, the best thing we can do for the public is follow the guidelines for protecting them. If it turns out those guidelines aren\’t effective, then you go through the proper channels to try to modify them. That\’s how it works.

SEBASTIAN CARDOZA(UNDERSHERIFF ODF  DODD)

Hey, it\’s so nice to meet you. You want to know a little bit about me? I think I surprise people. They think that because I\’m a cop, I must be gruff and no-nonsense and stuff like that. But it\’s a stereotype that we\’re all like that. I\’m actually more of a people person. I\’m a big advocate of community policing…you know, working with communities to deal with public safety issues? When you build trust and relationships with community members, then they\’re way more likely to report suspicious activity. Some people think that community policing is a little wishy-washy, but it\’s not. Building relationships works, and it\’s a better way to get things done

Janice Janice Keller

Brown Trout Bay Emergency Manager

K I\’d say I\’m a problem solver, for the most part. Sometimes I get into trouble with friends when they come to me with problems, and I\’m always trying to come up with solutions—and what they\’re really looking for is just a shoulder to cry on. Not that I\’m not sympathetic to their feelings. It\’s just my first instinct to try to analyze the situation and try to help them fix it. And women aren\’t expected to be that way, which can be frustrating. It serves me well at work though. When there\’s an emergency situation, you need to be on task and figure out quickly how to solve problems. You have to keep calm when there\’s chaos. And I\’m pretty good at that.

BRIANNE TWYHA

Social worker ,Dodd County

It’s nice to meet you, and thank you for asking about me. I’m originally from Riverbend City, and I moved down to Brown Trout Bay 10 years ago to be a county social worker. I love my job. Sure, it can be exhausting and frustrating. But the best part is collaborating with people to make meaningful change. I advocate for my clients and help connect them to resources—and in a rural community, it can take some real imagination to help people find what they need. But I feel the most rewarded when I teach clients the skills they need to navigate the system for themselves. I like to empower people—that’s what really motivates me. So that’s a little about—tell me a little bit about yourself.

Meeting

From: Brad Nygard, Administrator, Dodd County Planning Division

To:

Good morning, We need to meet as a team as soon as possible. Protocol calls for us to meet at the Brown Trout Bay Courthouse. I\’ve reserved room 224 for us. Some of you may have a long drive due to bridge outages and other problems, so let\’s start the meeting at noon. That should give everyone enough time to get here.

Thanks,

Brad

Re: Meeting

From: Matthew Chu, Executive Director, Department of Business and Professional Regulation

To:

Hi team, Brad, I know it\’s protocol for the team to meet at the courthouse, and normally I would be fine with that. But the commute could be up two hours for some of our team members because of detours. We need to be flexible. I suggest we move the meeting to a location that\’s less affected by the flooding, and/or we let people call into the meeting via Skype.

Thank you, Matthew

Re: Re: Meeting

From: Lisa Truman, Director of Dodd County Department of Public Health

To:

Matthew, I see your point about using Skype for the meeting. It\’s really challenging to get around, and I know some members of the team are coming in from quite a distance! But I do think in this case, we need to meet in person, even if that\’s a challenge. We need to work together efficiently as a team immediately, and there\’s no replacement for face-to-face communication. I would say that if someone absolutely cannot get to the meeting—which is a possibility, I realize—then perhaps they could Skype in as a last resort. I am kind of worried about Rodney, since he lives quite a ways away and may have detours in his path.

I do agree that we should look into having the meeting at a different location. What does everyone think? What location would it be most convenient for us to meet? Perhaps we could meet at someone\’s home, if necessary?

Warmly, Lisa

Re: Re: Re: Meeting

From: Rodney Saunders, Chief Engineer for Dodd County

To:

Aw, don\’t worry about me, Lisa. I\’ve driven through worse disasters! I\’ll bring my shortwave radio along to help navigate detours.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Meeting

From: Brad Nygard, Administrator, Dodd County Planning Division

To:

Look, I\’m fine if you all want to move the meeting back to 1:00 to make sure that everyone gets there. But we have to meet at the courthouse because that\’s protocol. There are all kinds of procedural problems if we meet in someone\’s home or at another unofficial location.

—Brad

Re: Re: Re: Re: Meeting

From: Melanie Cohen, Executive Director of Dodd County Transportation System

To:

Hi folks, I agree with Brad. We can\’t violate protocol by holding the meeting elsewhere. Let\’s keep Skype an option as a last resort in case someone absolutely cannot get there.

Thanks, Melanie

Re: Re: Re: Re: Meeting

From: Janice Keller, Brown Trout Bay Emergency Manager

To:

Hi team, It sounds like we really do need to meet at the courthouse, but I know it will be difficult for some people to get there because of bridge outages and detours. Would it help if we arranged carpools? That way we could reduce the number of drivers on the road, and if any of you in rural areas have four-wheel drive vehicles, that might help if there\’s rocky terrain to navigate. I agree that Skype sounds like a good option if we can\’t figure out a solution to get everyone to the courthouse—and yes, I think we should move the meeting back to 1:00.

—Janice

Re: Re: Re: Re: Meeting

From: Matthew Chu, Executive Director, Department of Business and Professional Regulation

To:

Look, people, if you haven\’t noticed, there\’s a FLOOD out there!!! Why do you all keep talking about protocols? Do you really want more people out there on the roads than necessary when there\’s perfectly reliable technology that we can use to have a meeting remotely? Let\’s find a better place to have a meeting or LET\’S DO IT REMOTELY!!! Have some flexibility, people!

—Matthew

Re: Re: Re: Re: Meeting

From: Brad Nygard, Administrator, Dodd County Planning Division

To:

With all due respect, Matthew, this is an emergency. This isn\’t the time for flexibility. This is the time to follow public safety protocols.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Meeting

From: Matthew Chu, Executive Director, Department of Business and Professional Regulation

To:

Public safety protocols? We\’re not talking about the disposing of dangerous chemicals or something like that. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT WHERE TO HOLD THE MEETING!!!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Meeting

From: Sebastian Cardoza, Undersheriff of Dodd County

To:

I hate to add fuel to this debate, but it is really that important? Why can\’t we just meet where it\’s most convenient? I know there are protocols, but this isn\’t a normal situation.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Meeting

From: Matthew Chu, Executive Director, Department of Business and Professional Regulation

To:

Thank you, Sebastian. WE NEED TO BE FLEXIBLE!!!!!

Re: Re: Re: Re: Meeting

From: Brad Nygard, Administrator, Dodd County Planning Division

To:

Matthew, why don\’t you use a few more capital letters and exclamation points? That will help the situation for sure.

Email String

From: Lisa Truman, Director of Dodd County Department of Public Health

To:

Oh dear. I told you I was afraid there were some strong personalities in this group that might conflict. Is there anything I can do to help?

Communicating a Team Vision

Communicating a Team Vision

Write a paper that i can read in  5-minute video response to a crisis depicted in the Riverbend City: Communicating and Leading for Change and Innovation scenario.

Introduction

Leaders have countless considerations when communicating. Communicating with larger groups via modern communication vectors increases the complexities, particularly when change is involved. With the increasing proliferation of mass media tools, it is more important than ever to understand the messages that you are sending to large audiences.

Overview

Innovation and change within organizations often requires a deft application of communication principles. In this assessment, you will create a video response to a crisis depicted in the Riverbend City: Communicating and Leading for Change and Innovation scenario.

Preparation

Communicating and Leading for Change and Innovation

It\’s been three weeks since the flood in Brown Trout Bay.

The county\’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is still activated, and you are still in charge of the Leadership Team that has been assembled to address this crisis.

The water supply situation has not been resolved, but it has been stabilized. Unfortunately, some of the poorer areas of the city are still struggling with water distribution—which has led to a good deal of negative publicity.

Because of this, the governor decides that the state needs to get involved more directly with the city\’s response and recovery operations. He has appointed a trusted assistant to co-facilitate the leadership team with you.

As you know, the members of your team have a variety of different communication styles—and some of them might be resistant to changes proposed by the assistant. You will need to use your leadership skills to help enact this change, and to encourage your team to be innovative.

MAYORS  EMAIL

EOC Team

From: Megan Brock, Governor\’s Assistant

To:

Hello! My name is Megan Brock, and I\’m an assistant to Governor Nixon. As you\’ve probably heard, the governor has assigned me to co-lead your Emergency Operations Team. The governor thinks you\’ve been doing an excellent job, so please don\’t think this is about your work. Rather, the governor feels the situation requires more direct state involvement, especially in light of negative publicity.

For starters, the governor immediately wants water shipped into Brown Trout Bay. I know that this will be expensive, and that this was not your team\’s original plan. I\’m hoping you\’ll be able to work with me to get your team on board with this idea.

Additionally, I\’m hoping to work with the team to think outside of the box and come up with some innovative ideas for addressing this crisis. I\’d like to hold some brainstorming meetings with the team right away. The governor chose me to work with your team in part because innovation is very important to me, and he is hoping I can help facilitate innovation with the group.

Thank you!—Megan

Governors  email

Governor\’s Assistant to Join EOC Team

From: Mayor Brian Nicollet

To:

As you know, Governor Nixon is concerned about the negative publicity surrounding the water distribution effort in the city. I want you to know that in my opinion, this negative publicity is unfounded. Under your direction, the Emergency Operations team has done a great job distributing water to Brown Trout Bay residents as quickly as possible. People who do not currently have access to safe water have been given instructions to boil their water. However, the media has somehow translated this into an inaccurate narrative about how residents have been forced to drink unsafe water.

Because of this negative publicity, the governor is taking two steps. First, he is mandating that large water shipments be brought into Brown Trout Bay. Second, he is sending us someone from his office, who is going to co-lead the team with you. Your new co-leader\’s name is Megan Brock. I don\’t know much about her, but she\’s going to be sending you an email shortly.

I know that you\’re working with a challenging group of people on your team—and you\’ve been doing a great job with them. However, I am certain they\’re not all going to be happy with these changes that have been mandated by the governor. You\’re going to need to employ your change management skills to help your team get on board. To do so, I suggest you follow Kotter\’s Change Model—which I believe you\’re familiar with?

Best of luck! I know you\’re up for this organizational challenge.—Brian

Inbox – (1)

Governor\’s Assistant to Join EOC Team

From: Mayor Brian Nicollet

To:

As you know, Governor Nixon is concerned about the negative publicity surrounding the water distribution effort in the city. I want you to know that in my opinion, this negative publicity is unfounded. Under your direction, the Emergency Operations team has done a great job distributing water to Brown Trout Bay residents as quickly as possible. People who do not currently have access to safe water have been given instructions to boil their water. However, the media has somehow translated this into an inaccurate narrative about how residents have been forced to drink unsafe water.

Because of this negative publicity, the governor is taking two steps. First, he is mandating that large water shipments be brought into Brown Trout Bay. Second, he is sending us someone from his office, who is going to co-lead the team with you. Your new co-leader\’s name is Megan Brock. I don\’t know much about her, but she\’s going to be sending you an email shortly.

I know that you\’re working with a challenging group of people on your team—and you\’ve been doing a great job with them. However, I am certain they\’re not all going to be happy with these changes that have been mandated by the governor. You\’re going to need to employ your change management skills to help your team get on board. To do so, I suggest you follow Kotter\’s Change Model—which I believe you\’re familiar with?

Best of luck! I know you\’re up for this organizational challenge.—Brian

Kotter\’s Change Model

Here is Kotter\’s Change Model. Use this model as you think about how to work with your team to make the needed changes, which they might resist. These changes are:

  1. Accepting Megan Brock, the governor\’s assistant, as your co-leader.
  2. Accepting the governor\’s mandate to ship water directly into Brown Trout Bay—which was not the team\’s original plan.
  3. Developing a practice of creating innovative solutions together as a team.                                                                       Creating the Climate for Change
  4. Create Urgency: The leader needs to help receivers perceive an untapped opportunity as urgent. They need to believe that maintaining or preserving the status quo could, in short order, find them facing a crisis. Thus, they need to see not changing as more risky than changing.
  5. Form a Powerful Coalition: The leader needs to identify a team of supporters—a guiding coalition whom others admire and respect—to partner with him or her, sharing leadership, in pursuit of the opportunity.
  6. Create a Vision for Change: The leader needs to communicate a vision—one neither complicated nor vague—capable of pushing others forward into the future, one that is very ambitious but at the same time possible to achieve. The vision clarifies the organization\’s purpose, its values, and its goal.

Engaging & Enabling the Organization

  1. Communicate the Vision: The leader needs to communicate the vision repeatedly. The leader\’s message needs to be consistent, delivered through a variety of means, and reach the various groups or stakeholders involved in ways that speak directly to them. Persistence and repetition are essential—it takes time for a message to really get through.
  2. Empower Action: The leader needs to give those involved the power to act and take risks so that they no longer feel powerless—it\’s about involving the right people in doing the right things.
  3. Create Quick Wins: The leader needs to plan for and attain reachable goals. Small wins can be huge. In fact, small wins at the beginning make the big wins at the end easier to get. Wins help the leader create support for change.

Implementing & Sustaining for Change

  1. Build on the Change: The leader needs to emphasize achievements, building on them to yield more change.
  2. Make it Stick: Finally, the leader needs to institutionalize progress so that innovation becomes a habit—a continuing process and organizational pursuit.                                                    Melanie Cohen Dodd County Transportation System  I still can\’t believe that the governor sent someone else to co-lead this team midway through this effort. For one thing, I\’m annoyed on your behalf. You\’ve worked so hard at establishing an effective team dynamic, and this is just wrong and unfair. And I don\’t know how we\’re going to get her onboarded efficiently. There\’s so many details in this operation. I\’m very concerned that details are going to fall through the cracks.                            Matthew Chu Dept of Business and Professional RegulatI think this Megan has some great ideas. I\’m all for innovation. Anything we can think of that helps people get the resources they need right now would help. I mean, seriously, the more brainstorming the better. It\’s just such a shame we have such naysayers on this team. There\’s no need for me to beat around the bush… it\’s been very hard for me to work with Brad Nygard, and Melanie hasn\’t been a picnic to work with either. Everything is rules and regulations with those two. I know they think I\’m a total flake, but they don\’t understand that I\’m a success because I\’ve been willing to think outside the box.                        Lisa Lisa Truman Department of Public Health     I\’m very glad to hear that Megan Brock wants us to work in a way that fosters innovation. Teams work better when they\’re able to solve problems collaboratively—and to me, that\’s what innovation is all about. It\’s about drawing on everybody\’s strengths to come up with the best solutions together.                              Sebastian Cardoza Undersheriff of Dodd County                  I\’m sorry that the governor sent someone to co-facilitate this group with you. You\’ve done such a good job! And to tell you the truth, I feel sorry for Megan too. That poor woman is walking into a powder keg, and it\’s not her fault. People are angry that the governor is demanding that water be shipped into neighborhoods.        Brianne Twyha Social Worker, Dodd County  I think a change at this late date may be difficult for all of us, but I’m sure we can make it work. As a group, we put a lot of effort into figuring out how to address this situation. We’ve found ways for people to get the resources they need – and we worked hard to do this. We’ll need to be careful not to get distracted from our mission by getting caught up in interpersonal conflicts.      Rodney Saunders Chief Engineer     So the governor\’s assistant wants us to be innovative? Heck, I can do that. That\’s what I do for a living. But I don\’t know about some of the other members of this team. You got people like Brad and Melanie who are way too into following the rules to come up with original ideas. And you got people like Matthew and Lisa who are all touchy-feely. Innovation isn\’t about coming up with feel-good solutions. It\’s about coming up with creative solutions based on evidence and reasoning. I don\’t want this to turn into a bunch of wishy-washy brainstorming sessions.    Sophia Perez Dodd County Department of Planning             Look, I don\’t care if the governor wants the state to get involved more directly in this group. But what he\’s asking for just doesn\’t make any sense. Sending shipments of water into neighborhoods? We investigated this option at length in our group, and everybody agreed that this option is too expensive and very inefficient. The only reason the governor is going in this direction is because of the negative publicity. Are we going to make emergency management decisions based on logic and evidence, or based on mass hysteria?                                 Brad Nygard Dodd County Planning Division                            So this Megan woman wants us to be innovative? Really? Look, we\’re an experienced group of professionals, and there are protocols to follow when there\’s a disaster like this. This is absolutely not the time for innovation. If the governor wants innovative thinking, the time for that is after this disaster is over. Then we can have a \”lessons learned\” meeting and discuss things we could do better next time. But right now is most certainly not the time for that. That\’s not in the public\’s best interests.                                                                         Janice Keller Brown Trout Bay Emergency Manager        I don\’t understand why the governor appointed someone we don\’t know to co-lead this group. For one thing, you\’re doing an excellent job. Why complicate things by adding a second leader? Especially considering the complicated interpersonal dynamics of this group. You\’ve put a good deal of effort into helping us work together efficiently. Throwing a new leader into the mix is going to make it that much more difficult for us. I mean, don\’t get me wrong. I\’ll do whatever it takes to help Megan out. Believe me, I know how hard it is to be a woman walking into a new leadership role. But if it were up to me, I\’d leave things the way they were.

As for Megan\’s emphasis on innovation… I don\’t know what to think about that. She represents the governor, and the governor just made a top-down decision to ship water directly to the neighborhoods. So that action doesn\’t scream \”innovation\” to me. If we do come up with out-of-the-box ideas, what\’s going to stop the governor from unilaterally shooting them down? I\’m open to brainstorming sessions because in the past, I\’ve seen them lead to good ideas. But brainstorming is time-consuming. I don\’t want to spend my time doing this unless there\’s evidence that this could actually lead to something.

And what\’s this about the governor demanding that water be shipped into Brown Trout Bay? Are we going to get funding and resourcing to make that happen? We\’ve been busy for weeks working out the nitty-gritty of our disaster mitigation. If the governor wants us to change course completely, then he\’s going to need to provide us with a concrete plan. And don\’t even get me started on the fact that this is NOT how emergency management is supposed to work in this state…Oh, and the governor\’s aide wants us to come up with more innovative solutions? Normally I\’d be up for that, but right now I\’m just too mad. We came up with solutions that were already working, and the governor threw them out. So if we come up with new innovative ideas, why should we trust that the governor would actually let us implement them?

If Megan wants us to be more innovative, then she needs to form a smaller committee of people on this team who are actually effective innovators. Janice, Sophia… possibly Sebastian.

As for the governor\’s idea about shipping water directly into the neighborhoods… is there any logic behind that at all? If there is, I\’m definitely willing to hear his arguments. Sophia\’s mad as all get out and thinks he\’s just doing this because of the bad publicity. And I\’m sure that\’s a possibility, but I\’d like to hear his side of the story first. I have to say, though, that I\’m pretty skeptical. I haven\’t seen any evidence that shipping water directly into the neighborhoods is a reasonable solution.

Politics are a reality and we will need to work with this new player. It is our responsibility to make sure this transition goes smoothly. I’m confident we can make this work. A big part of social work is about building coalitions and advocating for others. Dealing with personal challenges is part of the job. I’m hopeful the innovations she’s talking about are in line with the people’s needs during this emergency. There isn’t time to get sidetracked with extraneous projects. Our goal is to help people get the resources and support they need and we’ve been making good progress on that.\”

I think a change at this late date may be difficult for all of us, but I’m sure we can make it work. As a group, we put a lot of effort into figuring out how to address this situation. We’ve found ways for people to get the resources they need – and we worked hard to do this. We’ll need to be careful not to get distracted from our mission by getting caught up in interpersonal conflicts.

Politics are a reality and we will need to work with this new player. It is our responsibility to make sure this transition goes smoothly. I’m confident we can make this work. A big part of social work is about building coalitions and advocating for others. Dealing with personal challenges is part of the job. I’m hopeful the innovations she’s talking about are in line with the people’s needs during this emergency. There isn’t time to get sidetracked with extraneous projects. Our goal is to help people get the resources and support they need and we’ve been making good progress on that.\”I\’m glad to hear she wants us to be innovative, but I don\’t see how that\’s going to happen. Not with this group—even if people weren\’t so angry already. Maybe people could be innovative if they were working independently, but as a team. Brad and Matthew can barely stand to be in the same room together. Sophia can\’t stand to be in the same room as anyone. Lisa… she\’s really nice, but that\’s the problem—I think people like Sophia and Rodney are distrustful of her because she\’s such a people person and they\’re so logical. And I don\’t even want to know what they think of me.

But I have to say… I\’m nervous about the ability of this group to collaborate effectively in an innovative way, especially after these changes. If she\’s going to get people to be innovative, she has some interpersonal challenges to overcome. People on this team are angry, and frankly, I think they have the right to be. They see the governor\’s decision to ship water directly into the neighborhoods as a ploy to end negative publicity. I don\’t know if that\’s true or not, but from my perspective, it\’s a pretty top-down decision that doesn\’t show a lot of respect for the thoughtful decisions we\’ve made in this group. And on top of all that… well, I don\’t think this is the most innovative group of people, at least not in a traditional sense. You have some very logic-driven people, like Sophia and Rodney, and you have people like Brad who are very rules-driven. It\’s not that people like that can\’t be innovative, but a leader needs to find ways to facilitate this. Are you up for that challenge?

Audio Player

As for the governor declaring that we\’re going to have water shipped into the neighborhoods… well, that\’s not the way I would have handled things. But what are you going to do? The governor made a decision, and we need to make it work. I don\’t understand why Sophia and Jenny are getting so upset because that\’s pointless. We have to work in the here and now. And if people were willing to be innovative, we could figure out ways to make the governor\’s plan work better.ion

And this business about sending water directly into Brown Trout Bay? I guess that would have been an okay solution if that\’s what we had decided upon in the first place. But people on this team had legitimate concerns about this, so we went in another direction, and we\’ve put time and resources into other solutions. And now we\’re expected to drop everything and start organizing water shipments? That\’s a very complicated thing to do, for everyone involved in this process. It would be way more efficient to stick with our original plans and make modifications if necessary—but to go in a completely different direction? It gives me a headache just talking about it.

And Megan also wants us to be innovative? We don\’t have time to be innovative. Especially now that we have to change direction—that\’s going to take all of our efforts

Scenario

Based on the communications that you have received from your team depicted in the Riverbend City: Communicating and Leading for Change and Innovation scenario, it is clear that your team is resisting the changes being proposed. Your examination of the communication surrounding your team members\’ feelings about the changes have left you concerned. Of particular concern have been the communications of Matthew Chu, who has sent group emails with disrespectful comments and memes about the governor. You have resolved to reset the team members\’ attitudes so they clearly understand your approach to the changes and how communications among them need to reflect it.

After analyzing the situation, your plan is to briefly introduce items for your team to consider before the meeting via a posted 4–5 minute video. Your goals for this video are to:

  • Communicate your decision on how you plan to address the governor\’s actions and plans.
  • Explain three critical communication issues and challenges faced by the team, including communication issues to date.
  • Describe an action or policy that you will introduce to& improve communications and assure people are working with a unified purpose.
  • Define your expectations for ethical discourse in team communications.

Instructions

Write a paper that can be read in  a 4–5 minute video message  that will be posted for all team members in which you address each aspect of the scenario.

  • Content: Address all items defined in the scenario.

Competencies Measured (  please  answer  all  competencies )

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

  • Competency 1: Analyze business communication situations.
    • Create an appropriate response to the scenario based upon sound analysis.
  • Competency 2: Apply fundamental principles of organizational communication.
    • Create a video that effectively addresses specified goals.
  • Competency 3: Analyze the interrelationships of communication within organizational systems.
    • Explain critical communication issues and challenges faced by the team.
    • Describe an action or policy that would likely improve communications and assure people are working with a unified purpose.
  • Competency 4: Analyze the application of ethical principles in organizational communication.
    • Define appropriate expectations for ethical discourse in team communications.
  • Competency 5: Communicate effectively and professionally.
    • Organize content for ideas to flow logically with smooth transitions.

Product Analysis Paper

Product Analysis Paper

Choose a company\’s product or service and submit a detailed analysis of the product.

Introduction

All of us have a perspective of marketing from the role of a consumer, but have you ever thought about the media and messages behind the products and services you use every day? Many people think marketing means personal selling. Others think it means advertising. Still others believe marketing has to do with making products available in stores, arranging displays, and maintaining inventories of products for future sales. Actually, marketing includes all of these activities and more.

Effective marketing begins with great products. The central focus of a marketing program will be on a product or service for which the integrated marketing effort will summarize the essence of that product or service. All of this will include the company, competition, and customer requirements. Design, product positioning, and other elements are part of product line management\’s efforts to maintain a unique set of values in the customer\’s mind, either carving out a niche or maintaining market share leadership against the onslaught of competitive products.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

  • Competency 1: Examine the basic marketing models for a business or organization.
    • Address assessment purpose in a well-organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.
  • Competency 3: Examine the relationship of basic marketing strategies to business success.
    • Evaluate product strategies to business success.
  • Competency 4: Apply effective marketing planning and implementation.
    • Describe competition for product and the marketing environment.
    • Discuss branding of the product, including intended audience and product positioning.
    • Describe the product and their target market.

Note: Assessments 1–3 in this course require you to complete a marketing analysis. Because they build on each other, it is recommended but not required that you complete them in sequence.

Overview

This assessment allows you to analyze in depth a product of your choice. You will be able to look in a detailed manner at how a company maximizes the branding of the product, the competition, and how the company positions the product in the marketplace.

Preparation

Pick a company that makes or sells products, not a service-oriented company. Use the same company for all assessments in this course. Try to go beyond the typical consumer electronic offerings, such as Apple. If you are in doubt about your chosen company but if it will work for the project, please ask your faculty member.

Instructions

As an attachment to this assessment, submit your analysis of the first P (product) for your chosen company\’s product. The central focus of a marketing program is the product. It is the sole basis and driving force behind all marketing activities and what excites a target market. Your product analysis should include the company, competition, and target market requirements. In your analysis, evaluate the following:

  • Analyze the product and the company\’s primary target market. What are the niche characteristics of the product and the traits of the primary target market?
  • Analyze the branding of the product, including the intended audience and the product positioning. What influence, if any, does the brand have on its product category?
  • Analyze the competition for the product, and the overall marketing environment.
  • Synthesize product strategies for the company to achieve business success. Why will those strategies yield success? What would you recommend the company do in terms of this product to assure its long-term success?
  • Cite any resources you use.
  • Be sure your analysis presents a focused purpose through strong organizational skills. Also be sure it presents evidence through strong paraphrasing/summarizing and appropriate tone and sentence structure.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

  • Written communication: Communication should be clear and well organized, and support a central idea, with no technical writing errors, as expected of a business professional.
  • References: References and citations are formatted in a consistent style, with a preference for using Evidence and APA.
  • Number of resources: Use a minimum of three scholarly resources related to the content of the assessment.
  • Length of paper: Approximately 3–4 typed, double-spaced pages, in addition to the title and references pages.
  • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Competencies Measured

PLEASE MAKE SURE THE COMPETENCIES ARE WRITTEN AS  SUB TOPICS AND ANSWERED .

  • Competency 1: Examine the basic marketing models for a business or organization.
    • Address assessment purpose in a well-organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.
  • Competency 3: Examine the relationship of basic marketing strategies to business success.
    • Evaluate product strategies to business success.
  • Competency 4: Apply effective marketing planning and implementation.
    • Describe competition for product and the marketing environment.
    • Discuss branding of the product, including intended audience and product positioning.
    • Describe the product and their target marke