PHASE 2:

This course uses the CTU Professional Learning Model™ (CTU PLM) to teach students with hands-on, industry-related, problem-solving experiences that model the professional environment and encourage achievements that lead to student and employer success. The CTU PLM is founded on the idea that students learn best by working on real-world, professional projects related to their chosen career fields. By working this way, students develop the expertise to apply conceptual knowledge to get effective results. Through professional learning, students experience the complexity of real-world problems and learn to select an appropriate approach to a problem that has more than one solution. This method of learning is called Problem-Based Learning (PBL). PBL assumes that you will master content while solving a meaningful problem in each assignment.
Throughout the course, you will work with a scenario in which some basic, background information is provided about a company. (This information could apply to any company that provides products or services of this sort in general.) You have a role in the scenario; that is, you are part of the story. The dialogue in each assignment presents the problem that must be solved. It is up to you to respond to the problem and submit a deliverable that will be graded.
Refer to the following scenario as you progress through the PBL process.
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Scenario: Atlantis Global Corporation
In the 21st-century global economy, talent management has become a key strategic tool, which places greater responsibility on the shoulders of human resources (HR) managers and senior leadership in organizations. The ability of organizations to manage their global talent efficiently makes the difference between success and failure, competitive advantage and bankruptcy. Rapidly changing connectivity, technology advances, economic and business transformations, the ever-emergent competition, demographic changes, and the coming to age of a new generation of workers are having an impact on talent supply and demand.
The quest to gain a competitive advantage and tap into new and emerging markets has created a significant shift in organizational operation and growth patterns. Organizations today are increasingly operating across their home continents and beyond. Companies are no longer operating in silos.
An Overview
Atlantis Global Corporation (AGC) is a multinational organization that engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of electronic circuit boards for use in high-definition TV screens. Although the design centers are located in the United States, the bulk of the manufacturing processes are carried out at their overseas subsidiaries. The electronic circuit boards are primarily sold to Original Equipment manufacturers located in North and South America, Africa, and the Asia/Pacific region. Headquartered in the Midwest United States, AGC has subsidiaries in three locations, on three continents: Subsidiary A in Asia, Subsidiary B in Africa, and Subsidiary C in South America. In all three locations, the subsidiaries are located in industrial parks or centers. These locations were selected for strategic reasons, including an abundance of raw materials for the company’s products, the availability of a labor force, and a rapidly growing customer base. Within the industrial parks, it is not uncommon to find two or three organizations competing in the same market segment and for the same labor force.
As part of its global human capital staffing strategy, AGC relocated several key people to leadership positions at each of the three subsidiaries. By placing key personnel from headquarters in leadership positions, AGC assumed a unified culture. Senior leadership envisioned that the subsidiaries would be self-sustainable in 2 years and profitable thereafter. A lot of capital, both tangible and intangible, has been committed to making the subsidiaries functional.
AGC has approximately 84,000 employees, most of whom are highly skilled and specially trained in the operations they perform. On average, it takes 3–6 months to fully train employees in each of the many operations of the parent company and its subsidiaries. Although the head count at the three subsidiaries has remained fairly constant, there have been a number of employees who have left the company for a variety of reasons. As employees leave, others are hired to replace them, but no one knows the exact number of employees who left the company or the reasons why they have separated.
At the subsidiaries, line and middle managers are concerned with having the right number of employees at each function or workstation. The operations manual, which the line and middle managers follow religiously, indicates that all staff must be fully trained and certified before they should be allowed to work on their own. Further, this requirement indicates that if someone has been certified before leaving the company, he or she must be retrained and recertified if rehired—no exceptions—even if his or her absence has just been a week. On the other hand, a trained and certified employee who is out on vacation or medical leave for a month is not similarly required.
The Issues
Since operations began in the three subsidiaries, AGC has failed to meet its financial obligations, and profits are lagging. This is beginning to show in the company’s balance sheets and is taking a toll on the organization’s financial bottom line. Although the company’s structure is designed for adaptability in a fast-changing market, several other factors were overlooked when the company selected locations for the subsidiaries. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

    Intercultural communication issues
    Political and regulatory conditions of the host country and the subsidiaries
    Diversity and multiculturalism
    Employee retention and motivation issues
    Employee dissatisfaction
    Performance issues
    An overall global human capital strategy that takes into account the home and host country nationals 

AGC, often considered the leader in this market, is in jeopardy of losing that title when the end-of-year reports come out in 3 months. This is a critical time for the organization and the senior leadership team is very concerned. They need to find out what is happening to the organization, report to the shareholders, and rectify the situation.
John Dawson, the CEO, COO, and Chairman of the Board of Directors at AGC, is deeply concerned about the future of this company. Past strategies have not advanced AGC to a leadership position in the global market. John believes that he has done everything that can be done to optimize the company and is reluctant to change the present strategic course. He is a reluctant risk taker and must be convinced that changes to the organization have value before changing direction.
John is currently working with Shawn Williams, the newly recruited Director of Global Human Capital Management at AGC. His priority is to help diagnose and address the company's human capital issues. Shawn brings with him extensive experience in resolving global problems, and he is recognized as an expert in the field of change management and viewed as a motivational leader. John and Shawn will be meeting soon to align goals and set a new strategic path for Atlantis Global Corporation.
As the new external consultant for AGC, you will be working closely with Shawn to establish a cross-cultural team that will address the company's global challenges. You will provide guidance and recommendations regarding each objective and anticipated outcome. This is a critical assignment because failure could lead to the dissolution of AGC.

Global Human Capital Trends and Goal Alignment Requirements

Phase 2 - Task 1
Task Type: 	Discussion Board
Deliverable Length: 	Primary Task: 400–600 words;

	

	

Primary Discussion Response is due by Wednesday
Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 400–600 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.
Additional Information: The presentation that Shawn made to the board was a success. You and he both believe that the overview he gave to this leadership group helped them see the challenges associated with the effective management of global human capital and the value of recognizing human capital as the most important asset that a company can have. John and the board gave every indication that they understand the urgency in moving ahead to align key global human capital goals with those established for the global organization. In fact, they asked you to move ahead with the development of these goals and to return next week to initiate goal alignment.
"I'm relieved that my presentation went so well," says Shawn. "I was braced for resistance."
"Yes, it's a major milestone, you say. Now that we have buy-in from the top, we can move forward with developing global human capital goals for AGC. It's exciting!"
"Indeed it is," he says. "I want to get this next step started as soon as possible."
"Yes, developing goals will take time and lots of thought," you say. "I recommend that you begin by evaluating the existing organizational cultures and leadership styles at AGC. They look to be very diverse."
"That makes sense," says Shawn. "Because the company has several global subsidiaries with significant cultural differences, this evaluation will be challenging."
"Well, as I always say, as goes the leadership style, so goes the organizational culture. Keep that in mind as you work through this diagnostic process," you say. "It will be foundational for the work that follows."
"We should make time to discuss our combined knowledge and experience with managers who have diverse leadership styles and the organizational cultures that we've seen them create," he says.
"AGC would benefit from an organizational culture that is more proactive and competitive," you say. "One that focuses on the most important asset of any organization—the human assets—could turn this company around."
"When you get back to your office," you say as you hand him a piece of paper, "take a look at this list that I jotted down during your presentation. I think it will help you with developing goals."
"This is great," he says. "Thanks."
The list you gave Shawn to help him develop goals is as follows:

    Define and evaluate the problem with the current organizational cultures at AGC.
    What components of the organizational culture should change, and why?
    What impact do the leadership styles have on the present organizational cultures at AGC?
    Describe problems that exist when a parent organization fails to acknowledge cultural differences at its other global locations.
    What challenges does AGC presently face in regard to its past lack of focus on cultural differences?
    What solutions can Shawn implement to correct these problems? 




Phase 2 - Task 2
Task Type: 	Individual Project
Deliverable Length: 	10–12 slides (+ title and reference slides); Speaker notes of 200–250 words per slide

	

	


Respond to the following scenario with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. Be substantive and clear, and use research to reinforce your ideas.
Additional Information: You and Shawn will be meeting next week with John and the board to provide them with your proposed global human capital goals. You both know that to maintain buy-in from this group, your presentation must be strong. This may be the first time that this group has ever seen goals associated with a human capital management program. You are meeting in Shawn's office to go over talking points on the slides and to coordinate the presentation itself.
"Thanks for coming in early to meet with me this morning," he says. "I've got back-to-back meetings today, and meeting you now will help keep me on schedule."
"No problem," you say. "I think it would be helpful to anticipate questions from the board and then answer them in the presentation. I wrote my thoughts down about possible questions and thought we could use this as our starting point."
"Okay, good," he says as he reads through them.
At the end of your meeting, you and Shawn agree about the content of your presentation and that the length should be between 10–12 slides (plus title and reference slides) with speaker notes of 200–250 words per slide.
Armed with the following list of questions, you are ready to prepare a PowerPoint presentation for the board:

    Why do global human capital goals differ from global organizational goals?
    How can global human capital goals be strategically aligned with the global organizational goals?
    What examples of global human capital problems in other organizations can you provide? How were they resolved?
    What are the global human capital problems at AGC?
    What are your formalized goals associated with each of the global human capital problems at AGC?
    Why are you requesting a cross-cultural team to work in conjunction with you and Shawn in the implementation of these goals?
    Why do the team members need to be from the home base in the United States and from the three global subsidiaries?