JOINT FIELD PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR Your major and final project for both

Organizational Behavior and Management Communication will be a field-based project pursued by your group, involving field research (interviews, focus groups, data collection, etc.), and culminating in a formal report and an oral presentation (by the team) to your client (optional) and your classmates and professors. Objectives The objectives of this assignment are: 1. To provide you the opportunity to apply the theory and processes you are learning to actual practice, with the structure and guidance provided by your professors, and with the support of your group and other classmates. 2. To provide you with substantive, real-world material on which you will base a final report that will include your problem or issue identification, findings and recommendations for change, including or followed by your theoretical defense of the merit of your recommendations (see below); and a final oral presentation based on the report. Description of Field Project Working in your groups, decide on a project or problem area in some organization to which you believe you can gain entrance (probably one of your own). The project or problem must be one that reflects your expertise as a behavioral consultant, and one that has a communication dimension. Since most matters of socio-technical systems and design are characterized as well by human communication difficulties, the combined focus should be manageable. Examples might include: an assessment of a project team which failed to meet its objectives; an assessment of the causes and solutions to problems of high turnover in a department or division; an evaluation of the effectiveness of monthly staff meetings; causes of poor attitude or morale revealed through a survey in a department or division; difficulties encountered in a reengineering effort or in rolling out a reorganization in a department;

dissatisfaction with the results of an organizational change program; methods employed to improve lateral communication between two or more operating units, and so on.

As you can see, the range of possibilities is extensive, and we encourage you to use your imagination and your contacts in designing your project. Again, we are interested in your demonstrated abilities to apply what you are learning in both the design and analytical content of the project, and in its delivery to your client. Project Process The following are the steps you will follow to complete the Field Project assignment: 1. Proposal. Due: Fifth Week of Quarter

Prepare two written proposals. The first will be to Professors Bowen and Zak. In this proposal, you will identify the client, the initial problem or issue that has led you to select that client; who will be your contacts and who are the decision makers to whom you will have access. You should identify project objectives, tasks you will undertake, methodology (ies) you will use, the time frame you will try to follow, and the change you hope to effect. The second document, attached to the first, should be in the form of a letter to the decision maker(s) in the organization. Your letter should be a persuasive document, designed to win acceptance of your idea and your project plan. It should also specify objectives of the project, define tasks, identify methodology or process you will employ, schedule milestones, outline the organization's level and nature of involvement, and identify the value added by your efforts. This letter should anticipate and answer objections to the project, and, finally, confirm their willingness to participate at the level you have suggested, and invite them to attend the final presentation during the last week of class. You will submit the proposal and letter simultaneously to Professor Bowen and Professor Zak, who will issue joint approvals and critiques (of course, your instructors will be available for ongoing consultation as you develop the proposal). The proposal will not be graded, but it will be read carefully with an eye for feasibility, potential pitfalls, and possible directions you might pursue for most fruitful results. You will not receive credit for the final report unless the proposal has been submitted and returned to you. The proposal letter will be read and graded as an assignment in Management Communication. 2. Final Written Report Purpose and Audience

Bowen/Zak, Final Report

A final report is usually the last stage in some sort of problem-identification/problemsolving process, or, at least, an evaluative process. Within business organizations, the audience is usually a two-part one: the staff who will be charged with acting on your findings, and the executives who want to be able to grasp quickly the gist of your report and to act accordingly. In order to satisfy both these audiences, your report needs to be prepared in full detail for the former audience, although as briefly and concisely as is consonant with that goal; and in intelligent summary form for the latter audience, usually as an executive summary. Form and Organization The most common flaw in reports made in business organizations, whether in written or oral form, is that they are too linear. That is, they are organized in a pattern reflecting the process the investigator (s) followed in conducting the study. Youll want to write instead for readers who want their concerns emphasized, and not be driven solely by what you did and exactly how you did it to arrive at your conclusions. The second most common flaw is visual discouragement. Readers are discouraged by confronting a report written in dense narrative format that is difficult to scan, and presents obstacles of time and comprehension to all but the truly committed. We therefore suggest (but dont require) that you follow something like the following outline, including bold face type headings, and probably sub headings as well, in formatting your final report. Title Page Include title of report, to whom it is submitted (client), by whom it is submitted, date of submission, and names of those involved in the investigation. Transmittal Letter This short cover letter should identify the project, recall the reasons for undertaking it, refer to its central outcome, express gratitude to those whose help was important to the projects completion, and the next steps that you recommend to follow this presentation of results. Table of Contents List all the sections of the report, including sub parts if you think they will help the reader locate topics of particular interest; specify page numbers; and list at the end sections called References (which will include all your sources); Appendix (which will include hard copies of your overheads, instruments such as questionnaires or focus group questions used in the study, charts and tables, and any background information you think might be important to the fullest comprehension or credibility of your investigation. Each entry in the Appendix should be labeled as Exhibit A, Exhibit B, and so on. Executive Summary The concept of the executive summary assumes that busy executives will not read reports in full. Since these busy executives are probably the decision makers you wish most to

Bowen/Zak, Final Report

influence, you want to lavish great care on the executive summary. This stand-alone document should include shortened versions of introduction/background section, a restatement of problem and goal, a very brief description of methodology or process, a brief summary of the analysis, a list of findings, and the recommendations. The order in which these appear is a strategic decision. Body of the Report Introduction/background - Tell us in summary form, the reason for the project, the objectives of the client, and, unless your strategy dictates otherwise, your key message -- your bottom-line finding and/or recommendation. That is, what you did, why you did it, what you found out, and what you recommend doing about that finding. Statement of Problem/Issue?Challenge - Be as clear in defining the problem as you can be, and remember your audience. If you have reason to think your reader/client views the issue differently, use all your rhetorical powers to help her/him to see your view as the appropriate one. Framing is the key to problem identification. Goals and Objectives of the Project - In concrete, specific language, spell out the relationship between your goals and objectives and the nature of the problem. Heres where youre telling your client or boss how youre going to help. Avoid vagueness! Findings and Analysis - In this very important section of your report you will demonstrate your knowledge and expertise as you either defend or prepare your client to hear, your recommendations. Drawing upon concepts and theory in your course materials, or on other research materials you have gathered which have guided your thinking during the study, explain and support each finding (we suggest listing each separately). Go on to provide support for why adopting your recommendations will solve the problems you have uncovered. Use theory and concepts directly, although you must take care to frame them in accordance with what your client needs and wants to know, and to under gird your credibility and influence. You might wish to add to endnotes in the Appendix any discussion of relevant theory you think would help your professorial audience to judge the quality of your analysis. Please note that this approach is an option, not a requirement. Recommendations - This section may list recommendations separately, with explanatory material as needed. Summary/Conclusion - Come back to your introduction, and draw in any key material from the body of the report. And dont forget to identify any follow up, if appropriate. Appendix - Your appendices will include a bibliography or list of readings (References); a list of your visual aids or tables and hard copies of them; other charts and tables; copies of materials used in the study, including names of people interviewed,

Bowen/Zak, Final Report

survey documents, etc.; any background material you regard as important to understanding of your study, or to your credibility. Remember to label your exhibits carefully. The body of the report should be written for conciseness and clarity. Try for 10-15 typewritten, double-spaced pages in 11 point, Times Roman typeface, not including the executive summary, letter of transmittal, title page, table of contents, or appendices 3. Final Oral Report/Team Presentation. Present the findings and recommendations from your field project. The team presentation should be limited to 30 minutes, should involve all group members, should include visual aids, and provide for Q & A. These presentations will be made as a joint effort for OB and MCOMM, and will be an end of quarter event. Youll be asked to invite a decision maker from the organization you worked with to attend the presentation, and well celebrate your effort afterward.

Bowen/Zak, Final Report