In this Group Project, assume that you and the members of your group are top managers of a big international company spread over several continents. You decide to rebuild/expand your company's Information and Communication Technology infrastructure and information system.

Characterise your company and specify the type of your proposed change. It can be, for example:

• Redistribution of data, i.e. migration from the centralised data storage into the company's local branches (or opposite)
• Entering the Web market and redesigning your traditional brick-and-mortar structure
• Changing communication channels with your suppliers and dealers into paperless forms
• Exploiting knowledge of your employees using knowledge management tools and approaches
• Introducing the concepts of learning organisation into your functions

Choose any of above or specify your own re-engineering process of a similar scope to those listed here. The description does not need to be complex, but it should state its three to four main steps that will affect various departments of your company. Also, specify the affected departments and the consequences of the changes on them.

To successfully accomplish the task, you will have to select and purchase new hardware and software and re-train your employees. There is a danger of resistance against the project as it represents change of a large magnitude and addresses many people. To prevent similar problems, your top managers want to motivate your staff.

During the first week, agree upon your proposed change. Consider yourselves being members of a board representing as many countries (or continents) as the number of members of your group. Specify how you imagine the change will affect each region.

During the second week, concentrate on your presentation of the change in a positive way. You plan to invite people to participate, not to intimidate or to repel them. Communicate your project in a positive way.

In Chapter 9, various theories and methods of employee motivation are described. Select one or several of them and prepare a Motivation Plan to be submitted to your board of governors. The plan should include the reasons for your approach, the way it should be implemented, the financial considerations and how its success (or failure) could be evaluated. Should it be implemented immediately, or do you favour a limited-scope study (a pilot project or splitting into stages)?

Describe also how to motivate your employees to accept the change and positively contribute to it and show its advantages and disadvantages. Characterise differences between the regions when appropriate.

In the end of the second week of your project (Week 4 of the module), you will submit one document for your entire group. Your document should have 1,500-2,000 words (not including the list of works cited), but it is the quality of the answer that matters, not the number of words. Cite and reference all sources use the Harvard Liverpool Referencing System.