MODULE 1: Assignment – Organization Synopsis & Preliminary Interview with Contact (COM453)

*This assignment has
two sections to address. 

**You must interact
with your contact to complete the second section.

Formatting:

·        
Use standard paragraph form (i.e. left aligned and
indented), 12 point, Times New Roman font, and 1” margins.

·        
Provide an APA style title page.

·        
Use APA style headers for each section. These should be
centered.

·        
Any paraphrased or quoted information should be cited
in-text in APA format.

·        
Include an APA style reference page if you paraphrased or
quoted information in-text.

·        
Writing should be of academic standard (well organized and
clearly written- spelling/grammar)

·        
There is no required page length requirement.

·        
Important: File submissions
must be in .doc or .docx format.

Organization
Synopsis

Goal: In
this section of the assignment, you will do some research to gain insight about
the organization you are working with this semester. The ultimate assignment
goal is to determine where the organization could use improvement and what
skills, if trained, would improve these areas. In order to get to this point,
you must first understand what makes the organization unique. You need to grasp
factors such as why this organization exists, what it values, and what it wants
to accomplish.

Instructions: Address
the following aspects pertaining to your organization.

1.     
What is the name of the organization? What specific
business or service(s) does this organization provide?

2.     
Where is this organization located? Are there multiple
locations?  Do you plan to focus on a specific branch or location? If so,
how does this location fit into the organizational structure?

3.     
What is the size of the organization? How many members are
there overall? If focusing on a specific branch/location how many members are
at that branch/location?

4.     
Provide the URL for the company website.

5.     
What is the organization’s history? When/how did it became
an organization? Has it endured any big changes over time? What is its mission
statement? What does it value? What is its current goal(s)?  (Do not cut
and paste the history from the organization’s website. Provide your own
summary. The mission statement can be verbatim. If verbatim, cite where you
obtained that information.)

6.     
Why did you select this organization? How did you gain
access?

7.     
Provide the name, title, and contact information (phone
and/or email) for the organizational member who agreed to work with you.
Provide the date he/she/they provided approval. *You need two contacts
if you work for this organization. If you listed more than one contact,
note who will be your primary contact.

Note: I
recognize that most but not every company has a website, vision, mission, etc. If
you are unable to obtain that information, make a note at the bottom of this
section describing why you could not provide the information.

Preliminary
Interview

Goal: In
this section you want to gain insight about employee tasks, operational
processes, and/or organizational culture that might need training. You will
conduct an interview with your contact to determine the organization’s
strengths (i.e. where it is doing well) and weaknesses (i.e. where it can
improve). This will allow you to better assess the organization’s skill
needs. This information will also give you insight on what questions to
ask employees in your future Questions & Rationales discussion board and
Participant Survey assignment.

Instructions:

Prior to your interview,
brainstorm potential questions to discuss with your contact so you are
prepared. Keep in mind the goal of the interview. You want to leave this
interview with a clear idea of where the organization is doing well, where it
could improve, and some ideas on what skills could be trained to employees to
aid in improving these areas.

Questions: There
are no specific questions or number of questions for you to ask. Consider
starting off with easier, more positive questions, and then moving on to more
difficult questions. Here are some potential
questions to get
your started.

Which channel should you
use for the interview? Here are some channel
choice factors to consider. 

When you write
up this section, do not include the questions you asked. Instead, share
what you learned about the organization. 

What you will turn in for
this section based on what you learned from your interview:

1.     
First, provide a paragraph on where the organization is
excelling.

2.     
Then, provide a paragraph on where it could improve.

3.     
Finally, state how the later (where it could improve) might
tie to specific skills in need of training.