What does a leader do when things do not go as planned? How can a leader help to restore or improve an organization’s operations when a situation stalls or interferes with its functions? Although taking a proactive approach to planning is desired, change may occur suddenly and unexpectedly causing immediate consequences. A skilled leader must be able to assess a situation in order to prioritize the steps necessary to stabilize the organization. This process must focus on a short-term strategy to address immediate concerns and include strategic decisions that will affect the long-term sustainability of the organization.

For this Discussion, you address the Southeast Planning Group (SPG) case study in the Social Work Case Studies: Concentration Year text.

Post2 to 3 pages) an analysis of the change that took place in the SPG. Furthermore, suggest one strategy that might improve the organizational climate and return the organization to optimal functioning. Provide support for your suggested strategy, explaining why it would be effective.

Support your post with specific references to the resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your reference

Required Readings

Lauffer, A. (2011). Understanding your social agency (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Sage.
Chapter 10, “Agency Structure and Change” (pp. 324–352)

Northouse, P. G. (2021). Introduction to leadership: Concepts and practice (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Sage.
Chapter 7, “Creating a Vision” (pp. 161-208)
Chapter 8, “Establishing a Constructive Climate” (pp. 182-208)
 Chapter 10, “Listening to Out-Group Members” (pp. 252-275)

Finley, D. S., Rogers, G., Napier, M., & Wyatt, J. (2011). From needs-based segmentation to program realignment: Transformation of YWCA of Calgary. Administration in Social Work, 35(3), 299–323.

Plummer, S.-B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (Eds.). (2014b). Social work case studies: Concentration year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing [Vital Source e-reader].
“Social Work Supervision, Leadership, and Administration: The Southeast Planning Group” (pp. 85–86)

Do I really need a mechanic? Technically I can learn how to fix cars when my car breaks down, right? But is it efficient to do so? Maybe yes or maybe no! As we discussed in microeconomics, people are utility maximizers (always seek to gain the most possible outcome while giving up the less resources), people are rational in their choices (choose the best option available), and people are self-interested (choose what gives them the ultimate satisfaction). These concepts are also applicable to international trade. Countries trade with one another for economic reasons.

Please review the following video to increase your understanding of the effect of specialization on gains from trade.

Answer each;

• Take a closer look at our local economy or a country of your interest and pick a good or a service that you believe America (or your country of choice) has a comparative advantage in producing. Discuss the factors that you believe give America (or your country of choice) such an advantage.
• In addition, is it better for a country to export more or to import more?
• Moreover, what is the impact of trade surplus (exporting more than importing) and trade deficit (importing more than exporting) on GDP, employment, and the exchange rate of the country’s currency?

Competency

Evaluate the role smart technologies plays in increasing competitive advantages

Student Success Criteria

View the grading rubric for this deliverable by selecting the “This item is graded with a rubric” link, which is located in the Details & Information pane.

Scenario

You are the customer service manager for a regional shipping business similar to Fedex and UPS. Unlike your larger competitors, you lack the ability to follow deliveries, trucks, and drivers while on their routes each day, because the current trucks do not have GPS tracking sensors.

In the last few months, customers have voiced several complaints. Customers complain that:

• They cannot get up-to-date information about where their packages are in the delivery process
• Deliveries are not arriving on the day promised
• Delivery drivers are arriving after the 3:00 p.m. cut off time for all deliveries

Your shipping business cannot afford to lose customers to the larger shipping companies that have more advanced technology and the ability to assure customers have timely tracking information. In response, you have been asked by upper management to evaluate installing tracking/GPS devices on all trucks. These smart devices which are connected to the Internet via cell phone connections could provide valuable details about truck locations throughout the day.

Prepare a proposal for management sharing with them how these smart devices will provide needed information to improve customer service. Be sure to support your recommendations with credible resources. Using the assigned readings in this module is a good starting point. Research databases are listed in the Resources area below.

Instructions

Prepare a proposal for management which will discuss the general capabilities of GPS tracking sensors. Also, examine the ability to provide more information, describe the reaction of employees, and define any privacy and security concerns regarding using GPS tracking sensors. Your company’s leadership may not be familiar with this technology, so be thorough in your description of the technology.

In Microsoft Word, create the proposal. Use the link below to access the Rasmussen Business Writing Guides. The proposal should be 3-4 pages and should accomplish these objectives:

• Compare the pros and cons of using the tracking devices in the shipping business as a function of competitive advantage
• Examine how knowledge of each truck’s location and delivery times will change the shipping business
• Explain how this tracking/GPS system will affect this business’s ability to compete with similar companies
• Describe how truck drivers might react to having tracking/GPS devices on the organization’s trucks
• Define any privacy/security concerns in using tracking/GPS devices on the trucks
• Be sure the proposal:
• Begins with an introduction that prepares the readers for the rest of the report
• Addresses all points above in a correctly formatted body section
• Ends with a conclusion that reminds busy readers of the document’s purpose and main supports
• Has a References page that cites all sources in APA format

NOTE – Be sure the document displays proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure.

Explore

• Write a 5-page double-spaced paper (not including the Title Page, Take-Home Message, Wellbeing Intention, or References)
• Use proper 7th edition APA formatting

Engage

6) TAKE-HOME MESSAGE: Write the primary take-home message you want to share from exploring your curiosity question collected from different types of data, and that can be understood by any audience. Keep your message limited to 2-3 sentences, and type it into the designated box at the end of your paper. In other words, you are being asked to distill your research and knowledge into a concise answer to the original Curiosity Question. This is an opportunity to articulate your findings in a way that can be used to engage yourself and others in the conversation about what you are most curious about right now related to lifelong wellbeing [think Instagram caption]. 

7) WELLBEING INTENTION: Write a wellbeing intention, and insert into the box at the end of your paper. Actively engage with the data and research you collected, and your personal wellbeing journey, and set an intention for where you go from here. In other words, concisely state what you intend to do for your wellbeing based on the knowledge and skills gained from your Exploration Project and your experience in this course?

Résumé Regrets

Human resource (HR) managers say that 53 percent of résumés and job applications contain falsification, and 21 percent of résumé falsification state a fraudulent degree. In this age of digital and social media, it’s hard to imagine anyone falsifying their records, much less someone who’s in a company’s top position as CEO.

After a thorough search, Scott Thompson was named as Yahoo!’s CEO in early 2012. Prior to his appointment at Yahoo!, Thompson was president of PayPal, and prior to that he was PayPal’s chief technology officer. Thompson replaced Carol Bartz, a well-known computer industry executive, who, after two years on the job, had been unable to resolve Yahoo!’s troubles. In his first months on the job, Thompson formulated a strategic plan for turning around the company, including a massive layoff of employees. Then, the whole situation started to unravel. An activist investor sent a letter to Yahoo!’s board of directors expressing concern about an SEC regulatory filing signed by Thompson “that stated to the best of his knowledge its contents were accurate.” That document said that Thompson had earned a college degree in accounting and computer science in 1979 from a small university south of Boston. The activist investor said he had reason to believe that the degree was in accounting only. And, come to find out, the university didn’t have a computer science program until the early 1980s and school officials confirmed that Mr. Thompson received a bachelor’s of science degree in business administration. The activist investor questioned if Thompson had embellished his academic credentials and if the board had failed to exercise due “diligence and oversight in one of its most important tasks—identifying and hiring the chief executive officer.”

Would YOU lie on a résumé to get a job you want? 70 percent of college

students said they would!

After all this came down, a person close to the company said that, “In the absence of evidence that Mr. Thompson actively misled Yahoo! about his résumé, Yahoo!’s directors likely won’t force him out. Maintaining him as CEO of Yahoo! at this time is more important than whether he had a computer science degree or not.” And at first, that was the stance Yahoo!’s board took. However, the controversy continued to grow. In a meeting with senior Yahoo! officials, Thompson said he “regretted not finding an error in his public biography.” He then suggested that maybe an executive search firm might have inserted this information more than seven years earlier. Yet, this blame game backfired. Some of his comments ended up on tech blogs, which angered the search firm, which produced documents from Mr. Thompson showing his inaccurate biography. As one person close to the situation said, “The cover-up became worse than the crime.” Not long after, Thompson ended up resigning his position. Although the board did not give him severance pay, he did get to keep $7 million of the cash and stock he received when appointed to the position. Not a bad haul for only four months’ work. (Epilogue: Thompson was replaced by Marissa Mayer, whom we introduced in

Case Application #1 in Chapter 6)

Prepare a 2-page paper answering the following questions.  Remember, use 10-12 pt font and APA format!  Feel free to bring in outside data/sources, but please provide citations and a list of references.

1.  What does this story tell you about the importance of checking a job applicant’s

2.  background?

3.  What stakeholders are affected when an executive has inaccuracies in his or her résumé? How might they be affected?

4.  Look at the statistics in the first paragraph of this story. Are you surprised by them? Why or why not?

5.  What can you learn from this story (a) personally and (b) professionally?