Applying the P-O-L-C

Purpose:

The third assignment, a consultancy report, provides students with the ability to demonstrate that they have mastered the course content and can apply theories, concepts and ideas learned throughout the course to a situation that emulates a real world situation.  Students will read the case study that focuses on the four functions of management:  planning, organizing, leading and controlling (P-O-L-C) and respond to the required elements of the assignment.

Writing reports in business is commonplace so writing a consultancy report provides students the opportunity to demonstrate a skill that employers are looking for from an employee.

Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment:

• integrate management theories and principles into management practices
• employ effective planning processes to develop strategies, goals, and objectives in order to enhance performance and sustainability
• organize human, physical, and financial resources for the effective and efficient attainment of organizational goals
• demonstrate leadership skills by communicating a shared vision, motivating and empowering others, and creating a culture of ethical decision-making and innovation
• develop measures and assess outcomes against plans and standards to improve organizational effectiveness
• identify the essential characteristics of decision making and indicate the range and types of decisions a manager makes

Instructions:

You have been hired as a consultant to help Mike Davis and his family to solve the problems with his business both day-to-day and over the long term (strategically).  You will create a consultancy report that covers the four functions of management.  In creating the consultancy report, you must also demonstrate how the four functions of management are interrelated showing how issues in one function impact other functions.

In speaking with Mike, Ethan and Daisy, you already know the following about the business owners:

1. failed to develop or share a mission statement;

2. failed to determine the best way to organize resources, including personnel;

3. underestimates the importance of recruitment, job design and descriptions, and training;

4. assumed that motivation will occur naturally;

5. fails to define standards and other measurable outcomes;

6. ignored negative information;

7. delayed actions to improve organizational outcomes.