Performance Consultant
Performance Consulting vs. Training
Hello Class! For this discussion please respond to BOTH of the following questions:
Question A
Tell us about yourself so you can meet and greet other fellow Grantham University students within your course. Include what you believe to be your current knowledge level of this course topic and what you hope to learn before the course is over.
Question B
What is your experience with performance consulting or workplace training? Does your employer feel that training is essential to the workplace? Explain your expertise in this field.
The Progressive Case Study
Introduction
The purpose of this case study is to take the learning from concept to application. We will visit this case study in each module. You as the learner will identify your actions as the consultant for the client. As you formulate your responses, please feel free to reference the text. In addition please support your points with credible sources (professional or academic) external to the course. The university library database is an excellent place to start and use of tuition funds. Other good start places for research are:
- Academy of Management: www.aomonline.org.
- ISPI: www.ispi.org.
- Institute of Management Consultants: http://www.imcusa.org
- SHRM: www.shrm.org
** It is strongly advised that the learner read ahead as to what is expected in the following weeks to determine how to best prepare.**
The Case Study: Module 1
The Green Organization is a conglomerate of many smaller business units. The organization has offices globally. Some offices are contracted independent agents representing the interests of the business unit. The Green Organization was founded over 50 years ago and has combined gross revenues of around $1 Billion. The leadership in the corporate office has been solid for the past 20 years. The CEO emeritus and Founder Jonathan A. Green has stepped down from his position to take a less active role in the daily operations and semi-retire. He has prepared his successor, his son Jordan A. Green and mentored him for the past 5 years to take over the role as head of the organization. The Green family are the owners of the organization. Jonathan owns 75% of the company. Other family members and creditors have partial shares making up the remaining 25%.
Jordan has taken over the current role of CEO and Executive Board Member in the last year. He previously has served in executive roles in the different business units which include: Finance, Investment, Real Estate Holdings Group, Mergers and Acquisitions, Consulting, Training and Development, and the Corporate office. His latest position was Co-CEO with his father for six months prior to his father’s departure. He is a firm believer in productive, effective, and innovative training that improves overall performance.
He is looking to bring on multiple consultants to improve the productivity of the different business units and the organization as a whole. He has an idea of what he wants. There are many different types of consultants available. He is looking for an explanation of the different types of consultants.
Please address:
- Using Hale (2007) Introduction and Chapter 1, along with Pershing (2006) Chapters 1-3 explain the role of a Management Consultant, Business Consultant, Training Consultant and Performance Consultant. How can each assist the organization and scope of practice?
- How might these consultants be best used in The Green Organization?
- View these two video clips at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnt2Yl-momA and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdbReKzaYVY
- Comment on the critical difference between training and performance consulting.
- Why is the Collaborative form of consulting most preferred (and successful)?
- Share your insights with your classmates.
- Please remember that your work should be a minimum of 100 words per response to each question and should follow APA format with the use of citations to credit your resources.
Performance Consulting
This term you will develop a consulting plan that you will submit in Week 8. This should target the industry in which you intend to work upon graduation. You are the business owner and will develop the company based on your expertise and knowledge in your industry. You are required to use outside research for this project throughout the term. You may want to work on this plan throughout the term. This is an extensive project, so please be proactive and do not wait until the last minute to begin working on this assignment.
This week you will complete the first part of the project with an introduction to the company describing your target audience, the client issue or problem, your objective and the desired outcome for consideration. You will then create your company’s purpose statement and mission statement. You will also introduce the following topics: Strategy, Marketing, Personnel, Products and Services, Demographic served Action Plan, and the Evaluation Process.
The only part that must be fully developed this week is the company introduction, purpose statement, and mission statement. You will fill in the additional sections in the coming weeks of this course.
Your work this week should be a minimum of 3 pages in length following proper APA format.
Instructions: Enter or paste your written work and/or click “Attachments” to upload your files.
Week 2
The Progressive Case Study
The Green Organization serves all socioeconomic groups across the globe. The Real Estate Holdings group leases and sells luxury apartments in Manhattan. They also own and manage a portfolio of homes they lease to the disadvantaged, or severely infirm. The teams employed in this group range from high end real estate sales to the socially conscious leasing agent, a broad spectrum.
The Mergers and Acquisitions group buys and sells companies across the globe. The group not only does this for the Green Organization, they also broker business sales, mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships for clients. Brokers work with current and prospective clients to determine what the right business is, how to structure the deal, fix and flip, and business development. Personnel are diverse in professional sales and business skills. The average employee in this group has a minimum BA and 10 years in this industry. Turnover is very low. All personnel are well compensated.
The Finance Group provides funding and investing sources for the other groups as well as external clients. Clients can include automobile dealerships, lines of credit at retail stores, personal loans, and micro loans. The group manages a portfolio of around $10 Billion. The company owns 50% of the portfolio. The remaining 50% is client funds. The personnel range from Aggressive hard driving sales people working with large organization to fund development or sell loan portfolios to the small business lender and individual lender to make micro-loans (amounts under 10K) to start a business.
Consider this:
- Based on your reading of the case information above as well as in Hale and Pershing this week, describe your target audience. Who would you work best with and why? Please explain your answer.
- Describe what demographic audience would you not work well with and why. Please explain your answer.
- View the clip on about Caterpillar- Running Learning Like a Business (2:37) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdZcV3SxCzM&feature=related and comment on Dave Vance’s (former President of Caterpillar University) view of performance consulting. What parts of his discussion point out the strategic influence a performance consultant needs to possess within an organization? Share your insights with your classmates.
Please remember that your work should be a minimum of 100 words per response to each question and should follow APA format with the use of citations to credit your resources.
Week 2 Assignment
Measuring Success
Select and submit 2 appropriate templates and Power Point layout screens. Suggested sites include but are not limited to:
- http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/powerpoint-templates-FX102828209.aspx;
- http://www.free-power-point-templates.com/business-powerpoint-slide-designs/:
- http://workawesome.com/software/20-free-powerpoint-templates-that-dont-suck/
Submit the approximate cost of your proposal/services. Take into consideration your time, materials, resources, travel, etc. For salary information: www.salary.com
You will respond in essay form following APA format. You will include citations crediting your research and you should provide at least one outside resource aside from your current course reading. Your paper should be a minimum of 3 pages in length and should include real-life scenarios.
Be sure to continue working on your final project this week. Though there is nothing due this week for your project, you should still be putting some time and effort into it so that it does not become overwhelming as you get closer to the final week of the course.
Week 3 Disscussion
Peter Drucker Snipets
Peter Drucker is revered as the Father of Modern Management but his influence goes beyond the field of management. View the ‘Peter Drucker Says’ interview and share your comments insights on his wisdom with your classmates. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbM7gU6Y5LA. (4:29)
What did you think about what he had to say? What surprised you? What disappointed you? What tools can you use moving forward?
The Progressive Case Study 3
The Green Organization has contracted with you to develop a training program for improving performance and effectiveness in their regional offices globally in the Real Estate Group. The Group accounts for over 10% of gross revenues to the organization, or around $500 Million. The organization is requesting a plan for how you will assess, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate progress in key performance objectives as to sales and customer service. The organization is expecting a minimum 15% increase in profitability as a result of increased performance. They leave the process and training approach up to you. You must train the offices and all necessary staff.
Consider this:
- Prepare a training summary to be presented to the executive leadership of the Real Estate Group in a closed door meeting.
- Identify key performance objectives.
- Identify a plan that addresses assessment, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
- Identify the cultural challenges of the offices in the US, China, Japan, London and Germany (choose 3)
- Identify potential threats or challenges to the plan.
Your plan (response) should be a minimum of 300 words. Be sure to utilize outside resources in order to back up your plan with data/theories that have proven to be a success. Be sure to respond to your classmates posts this week.
Week 3 Assignment
Credibility and Influence
- Credibility and influence are vital components for success as a performance consultant as well as successful completion of any consulting project. Use the “Client Capabilities and Commitment” Assessment on p. 97 – 98 in the Field Book. Upon completing the Client Assessment, utilize the If-Then Chart on p. 99 to write a two (2) page report on your client’s readiness.
- Be sure to write your paper in a format that directs your plan to the company. Why will this plan help the organization? Use outside resources to back up your strategy.
Your paper should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. Please include citations to support your ideas.
Be sure to continue working on your final project this week. Though there is nothing due this week for your project, you should still be putting some time and effort into it so that it does not become overwhelming as you get closer to the final week of the course.
Week 4 Discussion
Human Dynamics, Development and Systems
Peter Senge is a world-renowned author whose book, The Fifth Discipline received numerous honors.
In 1997, Harvard Business Review identified the book as one of the most influential management books of the past 75 years. When finished viewing the clip, share your thoughts on his message with your classmates. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFo8fRDeH7E&feature=related (3:11)
What did you think about what he had to say? What surprised you? What disappointed you? What tools can you use moving forward?
The Progressive Case Study
The Green Organization is a multinational corporation with offices around the globe. The organization has over 500 full time employees and over 1500 contracted positions across its footprint. The diversity of the individuals and teams working for the organization is multicultural. One of the key components of the organization is to operate in accordance to the laws and traditions of the host country.
The Green Organization brings employees and its contractors to different regional training centers for cross cultural training. The organization also provides training on the different workplace cultures. As many individual and cultural characteristics are learned or based on environmental influence, the organization has an open dialog as to how they can best serve a particular region, territory, or client. Flexibility and adaption are very important to the success of the trainings and the organization as a whole.
Part of your assignment as a contractor is to present to the executive leadership the importance of regional cultures as well as workplace culture in training and in the workplace. Provide practical examples of how to best adapt and accommodate to the needs of a region for an organizational leader being transferred to a new region unfamiliar to them.
Consider this:
- A training plan for assimilating to a new organizational culture and regional culture.
- How can this plan be best enacted to expedite synthesis and raise overall performance and effectiveness in the organization as well as in the region?
- What tools might best prepare the new leader? Remember a tool is only as good as the artist.
- How can the importance of this training be best communicated to the learner?
- Your plan (response) should be a minimum of 300 words. Be sure to utilize outside resources in order to back up your plan with data/theories that have proven to be a success. Be sure to respond to your classmates posts this week.
Week 4 Assignment
Environment, Culture and Norms
- After reviewing Pershing Chapters 5 and 6 discuss dynamics of measuring success as a Performance Consultant. Discuss the needs and causes along with measuring results.
- Identify the top 5 factors to measure success for the client.
- What yardstick or tools are being implemented to measure current success of a client or your current business and that of future success
You will respond in essay form following APA format. You will include citations crediting your research and you should provide at least one outside resource aside from your current course reading. Your paper should be a minimum of 3 pages in length and should include real-life scenarios.
Be sure to continue working on your final project this week. Though there is nothing due this week for your project, you should still be putting some time and effort into it so that it does not become overwhelming as you get closer to the final week of the course.
Week 5 Discussion
Why the Titanic Sank
The Titanic disaster was largest passenger steamship in the world. In 1912, the ship hit an iceberg and 1,517 lives were lost. In 1997 this tragic disaster was memorialized in the award winning film, “The Titanic”.
View the video clip on Root Case Analysis (9:07) and follow the process as the consultant goes deeper into the causes of this disaster. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOVeO5_0qD0. In your opinion, why would it not be sufficient to be satisfied with the simple cause? Why was the deeper search as to the cause necessary? Share your comments and opinions with your classmates.
The Progressive Case Study
The Green Organization Executive Team has met with you and their Leadership Teams for each group. The key objectives for increasing the performance are decided upon. The challenges now are training the groups and the teams within the group to have a clear and concise understanding of the next steps in the process.
Overestimating the potential of a project or end result can lead to disaster. The video clip that is part of this week’s lesson addresses root cause analysis. We are quick to judge or blame when the results are less than desired. How will you design, develop, implement, and evaluate the training program you have presented?
The different groups are dealing with different cultures, various levels of education and experience, and differing motivation levels to succeed. Sharing and instilling the organization’s mission, purpose, and strategy are integral to this training. Sharing the organizational goal is important to be communicated at the corporate level as well as in each independent group. Each group must develop and implement their own organizational, team and individual goals that are in line with the organizational goals.
Consider this:
- What methods of training will you use?
- Will you facilitate a learning environment/organization?
- How will you determine the necessary training for each group, team, and individual?
- What are the cultural factors?
- What immediate, short term, and long term plans do you have for the ongoing training?
- What is your implementation plan?
- How will you monitor, assess, analyze, and evaluate progress?
Your plan (response) should be a minimum of 300 words. Be sure to utilize outside resources in order to back up your plan with data/theories that have proven to be a success. Be sure to respond to your classmates posts this week.
Week 5 Assignment
Scorecard Job Aid
- Review Pershing pages 335-369. You will find that there are several models for developing a scorecard. Assess and analyze two of these formats. Why did you choose these formats? Why are these formats useful? What are the drawbacks to these formats?
- Submit a 3-5 page paper of your analysis.
You will respond in essay form following APA format. You will include citations crediting your research and you should provide at least one outside resource aside from your current course reading. Your paper should be a minimum of 3 pages in length and should include real-life scenarios.
Be sure to continue working on your final project this week. Though there is nothing due this week for your project, you should still be putting some time and effort into it so that it does not become overwhelming as you get closer to the final week of the course.
Week 6 Discussion
Interventions
Like others you have viewed in this YouTube series, Meg Wheatley is an outstanding organizational consultant. Among her major accomplishments include work on Action Learning with the US Army. View the two clips that feature Meg discussing engagement and conversation. Of the ten principles Meg speaks of which ones are most significant to you? Share your insight with your classmates.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM9THiUOpRw; (2:28)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRe9_m7xYJU&feature=related (0:54)
The Progressive Case Study
The training is done. The organization has been officially trained as to how performance improvement will be implemented. All groups within the entire organization are keyed into the Vision, Purpose, Mission, and Goals of The Green Organization. All groups, all teams, and all employees are working in a singular focus to executing the chosen strategy that will carry their group and the organization forward as a competitive leader in their chosen industry.
Training and consulting is more than holding several one day seminars and executing the commands sent down from on high. The executive leadership understands the value of the initial training. The initial training is meaningless without feedback and follow up. As you have seriously invested over the last 6 months implementing this training and building relationships. You are keenly aware of the idiosyncrasies of individuals, offices, groups, and cultures within the workplace settings. The results are just starting to come in. They are quite favorable. As an overview the different groups report an 8.25% increase in revenue and sales, while reporting an average 9% decrease in overhead.
The executive leadership is looking to take performance over the top. They have turned to you to give this movement inertia to move better, faster, stronger, while staying focused on the goal and implementing the vision, strategy, and plans set forth over the past 6 months. You must now design, develop, and present a follow up plan to strengthen and continue the performance improvement across the organization.
Consider this:
- Choose one group and two different offices (use your imagination). The two offices will have different needs and approaches.
- Design, develop, and present the second phase performance improvement plan using performance tools.
- Explain how these two offices will require different monitoring, management and implementation tools.
- Explain how assessment and evaluation of performance improvement will occur and be addressed in these two offices.
Your plan (response) should be a minimum of 300 words. Be sure to utilize outside resources in order to back up your plan with data/theories that have proven to be a success. Be sure to respond to your classmates posts this week.
Week 6 Assignment
Interventions
- This week’s assignment will be used as a part of your final paper. You will create a summary for your proposal that will be submitted this week as well as a part of the final project in Week 8.
- Choose either the “Interventions at the Individual, Work Group, Department, and Division Levels” (p. 175) or “The Families of Interventions” (p. 176) from The Performance Consultant’s Field Book and provide a two – three page summary of which interventions are suited to your client organization and why.
- This summary should be a minimum of two pages and should follow proper APA essay format.
Week 7 Discussion
The Progressive Case Study
The Green Organization Executive Leadership has requested you provide a summary of your consulting work over the term of what has been 12 months of consulting. It is time to evaluate the effectiveness, impact, and results of their investment in performance improvement and performance consulting. You must prepare a presentation that summarizes the processes used to achieve the reported results. Explain what tools have been used and their effectiveness. Provide feedback and recommendations for continued performance consulting if advisable. The executive leadership will be determining their decision as to whether to continue or pursue other opportunities for the next 12 months.
Consider this:
- Present an executive summary to be given to each member of the EL of what has been accomplished, and what assessment and evaluations tools were used to determine these results.
- Develop and present a PowerPoint slide show that provides a visual understanding of what has been completed over the life of the consulting agreement.
Support your points with credible academic/professional resourcesYour summary (response) should be a minimum of 300 words. Be sure to utilize outside resources in order to back up your plan with data/theories that have proven to be a success. Be sure to respond to your classmates posts this week.
Week 7 Assignment
Performance Appraisal Process
- In The Performance Consultant’s Field Book (p. 202) the author relates the scenario of an HR director who developed a new performance appraisal process Read the scenario.
- Provide an analysis of what criteria is missing from the Director’s proposal? What other measures would you include in order to make this proposal worth the investment? Use the Figure 9.2, p.209 for additional measures to consider.
This summary should be a minimum of two pages and should follow proper APA essay format.
Week 8 Revew and Reflection
Review and Reflection
Review and reflect on what you learned in the past 8 weeks. What is the most practical and easily applied lesson you learned? What was the hardest to grasp? Why? What else do you need to know about Measurement and Assessment Strategies?
The Progressive Case Study
The Green Organization has been very impressed with your work as a Performance Consultant. The CEO emeritus and current CEO both tell you they really appreciate your work this past year and the care you provided to their “family” business. They have made several warm referrals to their corporate friends that if worked well will expand your consulting firm exponentially. Excellent work.
It is time to complete your own evaluation of your firm’s performance. Part of being an excellent consultant is being able to identify what is working and what is not. Identify the areas that worked and those that will benefit from improvement. Address what will be done to make the necessary and desired changes to improve your firm’s performance.
Consider this:
- Submit the final Summary and Presentation from Week 7 after receiving the feedback from the class with any adjustments.
- Complete a 1 page summary of your consulting firm’s performance describing how you are assessing and evaluating. Please include the SWOT analysis of your organization.
- Develop a 1 page plan as to performance improvement of the consulting form moving forward over the next 3, 6, and 12 months.
- Please complete this by Day 2 of Week 8 in order to allow the class to respond. Please respond to a minimum of 2 other learners providing substantive feedb
Week 8 Assignment
Final Project
This week you will submit the Final Consultant Proposal. Your completed proposal will be a minimum of 10 pages. Your work should include the following:
- Introduction to the company describing the target audience, the client issue or problem, the objective and the desired outcome for consideration (from Week 1).
- The company’s purpose statement and mission statement (from Week 1).
- There should be significant information pertaining to the following topics: Strategy, Marketing, Personnel, Products and Services, Demographic served Action Plan, and the Evaluation Process.
- There should be an intervention summary (from Week 6)
- And there should be an executive summary
Upon completion of your proposal, you will create a 20 slide (minimum) presentation that you would use to present to the client. The presentation should provide a solid look at the proposal and what you would offer the client.Your presentation should be professional and should include a title and reference slide along with a background theme (I do not want to see plain white slides). Be sure to go back into your course materials to determine what it takes to create a professional and effective presentation.
