Koh

Here it is in final as submitted.

**Improving Quality at Zia** **Lisa Koh-Herlong** **A00011076** **Lisa.Herlong@waldenu.edu** **EDUC-8843-2 Leading and Managing Educational Technology** **Dr. Conrad** **Walden University** **August 14, 2011**

**Executive Summary** Due to Zia's fortunate fast-paced growth, quality has suffered in the recent past. Three identified reasons are tied to the quality issue and have cost the company over $76,000 in the last six months. Zia can take no action and continue allocating funds toward correcting errors or implement this Performance Improvement Intervention plan and save a gross projected amount of $267,000 over the next two years, plus preserve the image of Zia in the public's eyes. The plan consists of three parts and is estimated to cost $85,000: 1. Designing an intranet for improved internal communication: Staff members are uncertain of correct procedures, proper personnel to include, and location of needed information. 2. Implementing project management software to ensure proper quality management: Staff currently does the best they can with what they know. This piece of the plan will ensure that all appropriate steps are included and all quality checks are completed. The Executive Staff can feel more confident that released products are fully prepared. 3. Providing management training: Zia’s management staff are experts in their field of knowledge but have not had the benefit of people or task management training. After subtracting the initial investment of $85,000, to implement the proposed solution, the company would still realize a $191,000 savings. If the plan is not implemented, then the projected loss is $352,000, based on the current rate of errors and projected company growth. The plan would be fully implemented within three months. Financial savings would begin to take effect shortly thereafter. Evaluation steps are included both during and after the implementation to monitor progress and success.

**Improving Quality at Zia** **Zia** Zia produces a number of products for its members. The members, in turn, use these products to benefit their own businesses. Zia has an issue with the quality of its products. The company understands that errors will occur; however, the CEO states that the number of errors is at an unacceptable level. These errors are costly both financially and in hurting the brand's image. Three men in a small warehouse founded Zia, located in South Florida, in 2001. Their initial business plan was to produce one product and sell it through an infomercial. The first infomercial aired in 2002 and was not highly successful, but the product spurred consumers to ask for other related products.
 * Problem Summary**
 * Background of Organization**

The company then developed these supporting products by creating additional departments: education, technology, marketing, legal, operations, programs, products, fulfillment, and human resources. No one had planned for this growth. The unexpected result was that the product developed into a membership/franchisee program, where the members would utilize the programs and products from Zia to develop their own businesses. The primary products include: Zia is a global company. There are two types of consumers. One consumer is the member. The other type is a mainstream consumer who benefits from the members' businesses. Currently Zia has approximately 10 million mainstream consumers in 125 countries. (The company prefers not to divulge the number of members.) The company's multilingual website address is purposely being withheld for anonymity sake. A performance improvement intervention project will affect almost every staff member. If the quality of products is to improve, it will need to involve every player. The key decision makers are the President and CEO. Once the President and CEO approve the plan, they will ensure buy in from the Vice Presidents, Directors, and Managers. This plan will use the trickle-down effect. If they start at the top, then the top management will engage the rest of the staff.
 * Instructional video DVDs: The members have a subscription which automatically sends these videos to them on a regular basis. The videos are instructional, in that they provide training for members in order to best run their own business.
 * Materials such as flyers, brochures, and posters: The membership program provides these marketing materials to the members to help promote their businesses.
 * A clothing line: The company produces its own clothing line and sells it to distributors and members who, in turn, sell it to their customers.
 * Stakeholders and Decision-Makers**

The company has volunteered to provide complete access to all personnel for interviews and information gathering. The key players (whose names are purposely withheld) are the president, CEO, CFO, VP of Marketing, and VP of Operations. Defining quality in a quantitative, measurable way (Chevalier, 2007) could be performed in a number of ways. Quality could also be measured based on feedback by the consumers. Another measurement tool could be the amount of money spent on correcting errors. The consumer feedback would not actually measure the time and money spent on fixing the errors before the consumer saw the product. The money spent on errors could be misleading.
 * Performance Gap: Cause Analysis**

One error could cost $50,000 while ten errors could each cost $4,000. The latter scenario, although less costly, signifies a larger quality problem than the one error at $50,000. In this organization's case, it is the number of errors that dictate "quality" in the CEO's eyes who, as mentioned in the opening paragraph, stated that the number of errors is at an unacceptable level. It appears that the primary restraining forces causing the performance gap are lack of processes, a need for management training, and a need for better communication of company structure and procedures. Here is an example of a costly error, which demonstrates the above three restraining forces. A color brochure was designed and thousands of copies were printed. There was one small error in the copy. It stated that everyone would receive a 15% discount on the clothing line. The cost to reprint the brochures ($21,000) was less than the loss that the company would have incurred if a 15% discount were given to all brochure recipients. The employees are highly capable in their area of expertise but not as much in executing the entire project around their area of expertise.
 * Actual current performance**. The company is releasing products without catching errors. Fixing the products is costing the company financially in terms of time, materials, and staff salaries. The number of errors that were documented for the first six months of 2011 was 13. Of the 13 errors, 7 resulted in tangible costs for correcting the errors, such as reprinting brochures, reshooting videos, and returns on clothing with quality issues. The range of cost per error was between $500 to $21,000 with a total of $76,160 for the 7 errors, with the average cost for each error at $10,800. The other 6 of the 13 errors did not result in tangible costs but did result in the cost of employee hours to re-do the product. Simple errors that can be easily fixed were not counted. The errors included in the count are those errors that cost more than one day in employee time to fix the problem and those errors that cost more than $500 in actual costs for materials or reproduction. (The company requested that the actual numbers and figures not be released. The numbers are slightly revised to honor their request.)
 * Desired performance.** Products would no longer be released with errors. The additional cost to fix errors would no longer be needed, and the return on investment would increase. The number of errors and the cost to fix errors should be reduced by 80%.
 * Performance Gap. **The difference will be the quality of the product, which, in the end, will mean an increased financial return on investment for each product. The gap is measured by the number and cost of errors. The gap is 80% of total errors, which means the gap is 10 errors and $61,000 (for a six month time frame).
 * Cause analysis.** Chevalier's (2007) cause analysis chart (p. 111) was used as the platform for interviewing the key players. (See Appendix A for interview questions). In alignment with the 85% to 15% environment to individual ratio, the results show that the environmental factors play the strongest role in the gap. Table 1 (in Appendix B) summarizes the results of the interviews. A minus sign denotes restraining forces, and a plus sign denotes driving forces (p. 115).
 * Processes: The reason for the error was that the person in charge of discounts was not included in the proofreading process. There was no formal process to check to make sure all parties involved had seen the product before it was produced.
 * Management training: The manager responsible for this project has expertise in the subject-matter area but not in managing the process or the people.
 * Communication of company structure: After interviewing the owner of the project, it was clear that he did not know who the players were in the company, and he was not familiar with the company policies and procedures.
 * Organizational History**
 * History. **Zia's quality issue is due to a fast-paced growth experience. When the company started, it had only one product. The company grew from 3 staff members to 180 in a few short years, as the initial product developed into a membership program that now provides hundreds of products for their members and the members' customers. The fast-paced growth mandated that the staff work quickly in order to keep up with the growing demand and to stay ahead of the competition.

They are now accustomed to this style of working; however, the "hurry and get it done" approach causes quality issues. For example, after they printed and shipped thousands of colored brochures, they discovered a small but serious error. The brochures had to be redone. The company projects another growth spurt. The error rate needs to decrease, not grow proportionately.

There are three possible levels of intervention strategies. The levels are low, medium, and high, and they refer to both cost and degree of resolution of the problem. Each proposed level includes a strategy to address the three main areas of: 1. Processes: Some type of task or project management system is needed to keep processes flowing smoothly. 2. Management training: A training solution is needed to help train the young, new managers who only grew into the management positions due to subject knowledge, not management knowledge 3. An intranet: A centralized information sharing location is needed to assist employees to know the staff, company structure, and all company policies and procedures, in order to complete the job tasks according to the company's standards. For management training, internal training could be presented by the Human Resource department using free templates for time and people management sheets, such as those found on the Internet (e.g. http://www.business balls.com/timemanagement.htm). With a budget of $5,000, the Human Resource department could bring in one or two management consultants to present a seminar. For the intranet, the company does not currently have one central intranet. Zia uses a mix of Google docs, Yammer, and a Gmail portal to convey company structure and information to the staff. While there are open source intranet options. This option would need to fall in the middle intervention category due to the cost of labor to develop the intranet. This low level intervention could include improved use and training of their current mixed method of company communication. For management training, a more comprehensive type of training could be implemented with the use of some medium-range cost training courses. There are a number of online or face-to-face management courses for as low as $149 a person. For the intranet, there are a number of open source options. While there would be no cost for the software, it would be necessary to hire a consultant to develop the site since the staff is already short on time and resources. For management training, more extensive training courses could be provided such as those courses from the American Management Association (AMA), which run $1,000 to $3,000 per course. The AMA has excellent choices of courses that would cover the various needs of the various levels staff experience. Another option is to pay for online college courses in management. A true intranet could be designed by a website designer using either open source software or other SASS cost-associated software. This would be a one-time cost for the design. After that time, the IT department would be able to handle maintenance. Each intervention strategy has its pros and cons. In weighing out all possibilities, in the end, the high end intervention strategy was chosen. The low end strategy would work and be very inexpensive to implement. The initial reaction from the staff may be more favorable because it is a low-key project, and the staff would not stress over more responsibilities placed on their plate. In the long run, however, it would not close the performance gap with any amount of certainty. An in-house, internally produced process sheet may not be taken as seriously as a professional designed process, and therefore its strength may only be an initial push out the door, later fizzling away. The Human Resources Department is very tight on staff and would not truly have the resources they would need to commit to train the staff in management skills. A partial attempt would be performed, but long-term effects would not be realized. Finally, the company needs an intranet to centralize the information. The lack of centralized data is a key restraining force (Chevalier, 2007). The middle end intervention is a very solid solution. A good, reputable SASS project management tool is easily affordable within the budget. There are excellent online management courses that would add value to the managers who are leading these projects. It is possible to stay in the budgetary limits and hire a web developer to create an intranet, especially because many staff members have colleagues who are willing to be hired at an inexpensive rate. The blocker for this intervention is the questionable staying power of the last two parts. Only a small handful of employees have actual management experience or have taken management courses. They would be quite surprised by Chevalier's (2007) many roles of a manager. Such a level of naivety warrants more than a casual $149 course to make a lasting difference. While it is nice to have friends who are willing to be hired for a low price (to develop an intranet), will the end-result quality be high enough to achieve the desired results? For these reasons, the high end intervention strategy was chosen. A SASS project management program, as in the middle level, is still a solid option. Clearly, professional management courses such as those offered by the AMA would bring much more relevant, hands-on, realistic, and much needed training for the new managers. A true web designer consultant could be hired who would be held responsible for producing a high quality intranet that serves the purpose of closing the performance gap. The bottom line is that quality begets quality. The company needs the higher end quality products in order to meet their quality goals. The biggest con of the high end strategy is the cost. At first view, no one wanted to commit $75-95k. It was difficult for the CFO to find a budget line for it. There is no direct revenue line from which to subtract this expense. Five decision makers within the company were asked which intervention they thought would be best. Two chose the low end, two chose the middle end, and one chose the high end. The data in Appendix D was presented which showed how $85k now would be realized before the end of the first year. It demonstrated how an anticipated (conservative) growth of 5% per each six month period (over the next two years) would cost the company $267,000 in equivalent quality issues. That figure does not include any brand or image damage due to the release of incorrect printed materials. The end result then is that the $85k would be realized plus a potential additional $191,000 would be saved. Usually, decision makers are only willing to spend money to make money, not spend money to save money. The latter scenario is challenging to grasp and to justify. Since the actual performance level showed a cost of $76,000 (in six months) to fix errors, the group of five, after seeing Appendix D, adjusted their decision. No one chose the low end, one chose the middle end, and four chose the high end. Specifying the field of technology, Januszewski and Molenda (2008) divided management into four areas: projects, resources, people, and programs. Januszewski and Molenda (2008) categorize resource management to include resources, delivery, and information management (p. 185). Since one of the three pillars to this intervention is adopting project management software, the chosen software can be used to manage the intervention while serving as a pilot test. A project owner will be appointed, with three sub owners, each managing one of the three pillars (project management, management training, and intranet development). A timeline with tasks, subtasks, outcomes, budget considerations, and evaluation metrics will be the driver of the project. Januszewski and Molenda (2008) described resource management as overseeing the delivery system and how the information is stored, accessed, and processed (p. 185). The overseers of the three pillars will be: Delivery of the three areas is proposed to be as such: Information management is self-contained within each of the three areas. Each piece is web based. All information will be stored, accessed, and processed on the vendor's server. Any certificate's of completion or test scores for the management training courses will be saved and stored with the Human Resource files. All files and information will have a regular back-up process to ensure safety of files.
 * Mission and Vision.** Zia has a membership program. The purpose of all of its products is to help their members be successful. The company's mission statement is "To make our members successful." Zia measures the success of its members by assessing the number of people affected by the efforts of their members. In alignment with the mission statement, the company's vision statement is to realize "100 million consumers globally affected by our members."
 * Goals and objectives.** The organization's goals are to create programs and products that will help their members be successful. They have an outside management consultant who has created a full spreadsheet on goals and objectives for each department. That information is confidential.
 * Three Intervention Strategies**
 * Low end intervention.** This intervention would aim to cost approximately $5,000 and would meet the minimum requirements to fill the performance gap. For the processes, a simple internally-produced process management sheet (Appendix C) could be distributed to all project owners. Top management and middle management buy in would be critical to ensure the process was being used and the approvals were being signed. There are open source project management software possibilities. Using one of the open source options may require research, training, and implementation labor hours, which may not be within the $5,000 budget.
 * Middle end intervention.** This intervention would aim to cost approximately $25,000-$40,000 and would resolve the performance gap to a higher degree over the low end intervention. For processes, this level of intervention could use SASS project management software which can run between $15 to $50 a month. The open source options are also available at this level since money could be allocated for hiring a consultant to research the options and train the staff.
 * High end intervention.** This intervention would aim to cost approximately $75,000-$95,000 for the first year with some recurring annual cost. This option would provide the highest resolution for the performance gap. For processes, this level of intervention could use SASS project management software which can run between $15 to $50 a month. With the higher budget level, the higher-end software could be used to close the performance gap more effectively.
 * Justification for Intervention Strategy**
 * The Manager’s Many Roles**
 * Manager in the Operations Department: implementation of project management software
 * Director of Human Resources: implementation of management training
 * Manager in the IT Department: development of the intranet
 * Project management software: Several lunch and learn trainings will be conducted for all managers, who in turn will train their staff. The Operations Manager will provide follow one-on-one support.
 * Management training: These will be online courses. The delivery method will be the chosen vendor's online platform. Announcements of the availability of courses will be blasted through the all-staff email distribution list, the weekly management meeting, and the current internal human resource portal.
 * Development of the intranet: Once the project is complete, per the CEO, the help desk coordinator will ensure that all employees set their home page to the intranet page.
 * The Manager as Change Agent**

After implementation is completed, the primary tool to measure success will be to evaluate the cost to fix errors. Did the company meet the projected metrics as discussed in the justification presentation shown in Appendix D? Appendix H provides more detail on how each of the three areas will be measured along with a sample summative evaluation tool.
 * Financial and budget information.** **This program does not create a revenue-generating line. The goal is to realize income through saving money by avoiding costly errors. The cost of the plan is $85,000. Without the plan, as seen in Appendix D, the cost of errors would be $352,000. This initial investment of $85,000 is expected to have a net savings of $267,000. See Appendix E for a line item breakdown of the $85,000 proposed budget.**
 * Supporting documentation.** **Several options were researched in order to recommend the most cost effective solutions that would generate the best outcome. The three proposed solutions and timeline for each action are presented in Appendix F.**
 * Technical information.** **The technical information is rather lengthy and full of many details. To view the technical data for each of the three sections, see Appendix G.**
 * Project Assessment.** The primary purpose of this intervention tool is to save Zia money on the cost to fix quality errors. The intervention plan will be assessed for success during two phases. First, a formative evaluation will test each of the three pieces to ensure they are meeting the objectives. The project software will be examined during a free-trial period. Only three managers will attend the management training at the start. Staff members will test the intranet during the development See Appendix H for details and a sample formative evaluation tool.

References Chevalier, R. D. (2007). //A manager's guide to improving workplace performance.// New York, NY: American Management Association.. Januszewski, A., & Molenda, M. (Eds.). (2008). //Educational technology: A definition with commentary.// New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Taylor & Frances Group. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). The Many Hats Leaders Wear. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Appendix A: Interview Questions 1. What, in your opinion, is the main problem with quality? 2. Where are you now in terms of quality? 3. Where would you like to be? 4. What pieces of information or tools do you think employees are missing that may be causing these quality issues? 5. Are there any resources that you believe may help your staff to improve quality? Consider time, tools, and skills. 6. What type of incentive programs do you currently have? Are there other incentive programs that you believe may help? 7. Tell me about the environment? What factors in the environment may be a restraining factor or a driving force? 8. How do you feel about the skills and talent of your staff in terms of meeting the demands of their job? 9. Describe your perception of employee morale in terms of their motivation to work.
 * Interview Questions**

Appendix B: Summary of Results of Interview Questions Table 1 Summary Results of Cause Analysis Interview Questions

The environment is safe and clean. ||||||||||||||  ||
 * |||||||||||||| Environment ||||||||||||||   ||
 * |||| Information ||||  ||||||   |||| Resources ||||   ||||||   |||| Incentives ||||   ||
 * - Feedback and guidance are missing in the process. Details as well as glaring errors are missed. |||||||||||||| +The company freely provides any necessary materials or tools needed to get the job done. |||||||||||||| -The company has two excellent bonus programs. However, the bonuses have been tied to "how a manager feels someone has performed," rather than actual measurable terms. ||
 * - Staff does not have an orientation that helps them understand who the players are in order to know who needs to create, approve, and be involved in the processes. |||||||||||||| -Time: Staff is always rushed to get the project completed by the deadline and, at times, skip steps to make the deadline. |||||||||||||| -Employee needs: Employees can definitely use additional training on managing projects. ||
 * -There is no performance coaching along the way. Staff has been promoted to management positions without training on how to manage people or processes. |||||||||||||| -Processes: Most projects do not have a timeline or any type of project management process. Many projects do not have a clear "owner" of who sees the process from start to finish. |||||||||||||| +The work environment is very positive, and career development opportunities definitely do exist. ||
 * |||||||||||||| +Safe/organized environment:
 * |||||||||||||| Individual ||||||||||||   ||
 * |||| Knowledge/Skills ||||  ||||||   |||| Capacity ||||   ||||||   |||| Motives ||||   ||   ||
 * + Employees are knowledgeable and capable to perform the necessary function. |||||||||||||| +Employees do have the capacity to learn. The company has a history of hiring excellent, highly capable people. |||||||||||| +Motivation is not an issue at this company. Employees love to work at Zia. The company is generous in bonuses and rewards. ||
 * +HR does an excellent job of recruiting correct staff for the appropriate positions. |||||||||||||| +Emotional limitations do not interfere with work requirements. ||||||||||||  ||
 * -Employees are not as cross-trained as perhaps they could be. Time (as mentioned above) is a restraining force here. ||||||||||||||  ||||||||||||   ||

Appendix C: Project Quality Check Sheet
 * **Project name:** ||||  ||
 * Project Owner: ||||   ||
 * Owner's Dept: ||||   ||
 * Project Purpose: ||||   ||
 * **Approvals:** |||| Have related dept heads sign off (or write n/a) ||
 * Primary approval: ||||   ||
 * Budget Approval: ||||   ||
 * International Approval: ||||   ||
 * Legal Approval: ||||   ||
 * Technology Approval: ||||   ||
 * Other Approvals: ||||   ||
 * **Staff involved:** || **Name** || **Dept** ||
 * **Quality Checks:** |||| Have approval person sign off below. ||
 * 1. Content ||||  ||
 * 2. Structure ||||  ||
 * 3. Message/Intent/Value ||||  ||
 * **Final Quality Sign Off:** ||||  ||
 * **Quality Checks:** |||| Have approval person sign off below. ||
 * 1. Content ||||  ||
 * 2. Structure ||||  ||
 * 3. Message/Intent/Value ||||  ||
 * **Final Quality Sign Off:** ||||  ||
 * 3. Message/Intent/Value ||||  ||
 * **Final Quality Sign Off:** ||||  ||


 * Timeline**
 * Due Date || Action || Staff Responsible ||

Appendix D: Justification Presentation <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">See attached Power Point presentation.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Appendix E: Proposed Budget
 * ** Zia ** ||
 * ** Performance Improvement Intervention ** ||
 * ** Proposed Budget ** ||
 * ** DIRECT COSTS ** ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Intervention Piece |||| <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Description || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: right;"> Unit Cost  || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"># of Units  || Total Cost ||
 * SASS Project Mgt Software || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: right;">24 || months || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: right;"> $ 30  || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">16  || $ 11,520 ||
 * ||  ||   ||   || staff members ||   ||
 * AMA Management Training || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: right;">1 || course || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: right;"> $ 1,995  || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">30  || $ 59,850 ||
 * ||  ||   ||   || staff members ||   ||
 * Programmer for open source intranet || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: right;">1 || product || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: right;"> $ 55  || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">240  || $ 13,200 ||
 * ||  ||   ||   || <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">hours  ||   ||
 * ||  ||   ||   ||   || $ 84,570 ||
 * ** INDIRECT COSTS ** ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * HR Manager's hours on coordination of AMA training and working with intranet development ||
 * IT's Manager's hours on working with programmer and training staff on project mgt software ||
 * Staff's hours for attending management training and project mgt software training ||  ||
 * ||  ||   ||   ||   || $ 84,570 ||
 * ** INDIRECT COSTS ** ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * HR Manager's hours on coordination of AMA training and working with intranet development ||
 * IT's Manager's hours on working with programmer and training staff on project mgt software ||
 * Staff's hours for attending management training and project mgt software training ||  ||
 * HR Manager's hours on coordination of AMA training and working with intranet development ||
 * IT's Manager's hours on working with programmer and training staff on project mgt software ||
 * Staff's hours for attending management training and project mgt software training ||  ||

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Appendix F: Supporting Documentation: Proposed Implementation The Performance Improvement Intervention Plan is proposed to be implemented in three parts. 1. Part 1: Project management software
 * Product selection: |||| The Operations team could do a review of best possible software. The top ten products in 2011 are reviewed on this website: [] ||
 * Recommended software: |||| Clarizen ||
 * Website: |||| [] ||
 * Features: |||| For full features and functions, see above website or Appendix G. ||
 * Roll out: |||| The Operations Manager would learn the product and teach an identified team of 15 staff members who lead projects to learn the software. ||
 * Timeline: || Sept 1-15 || Ops Mgr learns and tests the software ||
 * || Sept 15 || Ops Mgr begins to train staff ||
 * || Oct 30 || Training completed ||
 * || Nov 1 || All up and running ||

2. Part 2: Management Training 3. Part 3: Intranet Development
 * Product selection: |||| The American Management Association is a highly reputable organization with a variety of online courses available. This options saves time and travel expenses. For an overview of online courses, see: [] ||
 * Recommended course: |||| Management Skills for New Managers ||
 * Website: |||| [] ||
 * Features: |||| For full list of objectives and topics, see above website or Appendix G. ||
 * Roll out: |||| The Human Resource manager will coordinate the 30 specified managers to enroll in the online course, providing deadline dates, website login information, and completion expectations. ||
 * Timeline: || Sept 1-15 || HR Mgr purchases/coordinates with AMA ||
 * || Sept 15-30 || HR sends out expectations to managers ||
 * || Oct 1 || Mgrs take online training based on their schedules ||
 * || Nov 30 || All training completed ||
 * Product selection: |||| Here is a list of reviewed open source intranet solutions:

[] ||
 * Recommended software: |||| PB Works ||
 * Website: |||| http://pbworks.com/ ||
 * Features: |||| For full features and functions, see above website or Appendix G. ||
 * Roll out: |||| The IT Dept will hire an independent contractor to work with the Human Resource manager to design the intranet. ||
 * Timeline: || Sept 6 || Hire contractor programmer ||
 * || Sept 7-13 || Programmer work with HR on needs ||
 * || Sept 14-Oct 4 || Develop first draft of intranet ||
 * || Oct 5-11 || Test and edit ||
 * || Oct 11-17 || Test and edit again ||
 * || Oct 18 || Project completed and handed to IT ||

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Appendix G: Technical Information
 * Project Management Software Specifications**

These specifications were copied from Clarizen's website: [|http://online-project-management-review.toptenreviews.com/ clarizen-review.html]. These specifications were copied from AMA's website: [|http://www.amanet.org/ training/seminars/live-online/Management-Skills-for-New-Managers.aspx]
 * Core Features**
 * Advanced Inter-Dependencies
 * Automatic Notifications
 * Budgeting
 * Critical Path Method
 * Gantt Charts
 * Milestones
 * Multi-Project Management
 * Personalized Dependency Change Impact View
 * Project Indicators
 * Project Roadmap
 * Project Templates
 * Scheduling
 * Task Management
 * Time Tracking
 * Budget Management**
 * Billable & Non Billable Work Items
 * Budgeting
 * Cost & Revenue Rates
 * Fixed Price Rates
 * Job Role & Related Rates
 * Task Management**
 * Actual versus Remaining Efforts Completion Reporting
 * Automatic Notifications
 * Billable & Non Billable Work Items
 * Task Feedback
 * Templates
 * Project Percentage Completion Reporting
 * Progress Report via Emails - ProjectMail™
 * Reportable & Non Reportable Work Items
 * Resource Management**
 * Automatic Notifications
 * External Resources
 * Job Titles
 * Interactive Resource Load Views
 * Resource Calendar Views
 * Resource Details
 * Role & Assignment Per Project
 * Role Permissions
 * Team Collaboration**
 * Automatic Notifications
 * Contacts & Email Addresses
 * Discussions
 * Document Sharing
 * Inter-Project Shortcuts
 * Notes
 * Project Templates
 * Multi-Project Management
 * Real Time Team Updates
 * Delta Change Updates: Instant, Aggregated & In-Context
 * Email Discussion Generated from Work Item
 * Time Tracking**
 * Automatic Notifications
 * Calendars
 * Reportable & Non Reportable Work Items
 * Timesheet Approvals
 * Timesheet Reporting
 * Time Tracking
 * Reports & Dashboards**
 * Advanced Reports Editor
 * Built In, Best Practices Reports
 * Dashboard Filtering
 * Email Reports & Notification
 * Excel Reports
 * Home Page Dashboard
 * Integrations**
 * AutoCAD Integration
 * MS Outlook Integration
 * MS Project Integration
 * Solidworks Integration
 * Help/Support**
 * FAQs
 * Forums
 * Online Tutorials
 * Online Video Demo
 * Support
 * American Management Association (AMA) Course Specifications**
 * Lesson 1: **


 * Your Role as a Manager **
 * The roles and responsibilities managers perform
 * The Manager Effectiveness Formula
 * Performance Management **
 * The goal of performance management
 * A process and system for effective performance management
 * Lesson 2: **
 * Effective Communication **
 * The building blocks of effective communication
 * Communicating with virtual teams
 * Motivation: Creating a Climate for Engagement **
 * The cost of demotivation
 * Creating a motivational climate
 * Lesson 3: **
 * The Art of Influencing Others **
 * Understanding and appreciating Situational Leadership® II
 * The three skills of a situational leader
 * Understanding your perceived leadership style
 * Lesson 4: **
 * Coaching for Performance **
 * The AMA GUIDE coaching model
 * Coaching for behavioral challenges
 * Lesson 5: **
 * Delegation for Growth and Development **
 * Barriers to effective delegation
 * Conducting a delegation discussion

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">For features and video, see: [|http://pbworks.com/content/biz+features?utm_campaign= nav-tracking&utm_source=Home%20navigation#]
 * Intranet Open Source Software**

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> Appendix H: Project Assessment **Formative Assessment** There is a 30 day free trial. The Ops Manger will use the free trial to run a pilot test with a smaller project to see if the software fits the needs of the company. The pilot will be evaluated by assessing the quality and timing of the end product. Before all 30 managers are trained, an initial 3 will first be trained. These three managers will then meet with the HR director. They will fill a questionnaire, and then share their answers with the group. The three managers and the HR director will decide if the discussion warrants the rest of the managers to continue. The questionnaire is listed in the below section: Summative Assessment. The programmer will spend the first week with the HR director understanding all of the needs of the intranet. After the developer has created the first draft, five of the newest employees will be asked to find answers to questions on the intranet. These questions came from the top requests by employees that cause problems or are difficult for them to currently find the answers. The developer will sit with the testers to evaluate the ease of use and the quickness of finding the answers.
 * Project Management Software**
 * Management Training**
 * Intranet development**


 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Intranet Formative Evaluation Questions

1. Find the Time Off Request form and print it. To whom do you submit it?

2. You want to create a flyer to advertise your program. How do you make a marketing request?

3. You have to get the verbiage on your flyer approved by the legal department. Who needs to approve it?

4. If you lose your access pass, what should you do?

5. The following terms are acronyms that our company uses. What do they mean? ZAK, B-LIN, LEVEL 2, MIT

6. You just returned from a business trip. Submit your expense report and receipts.

7. Look at the company calendar. When is the next all staff meeting?

8. You forgot your system password. How do you get a new one?

9. You need to ship a package to a customer. How do you do it?

10. What comments do you have about the navigation or organization of this intranet? ||

**Summative Assessment** The primary purpose of this intervention tool is to save Zia money on the cost to fix quality errors. The project management software is the key tool for this intervention with the management training and intranet as support pieces to the big picture. The key summative assessment will be the actual savings. Once all pieces of the intervention have been implemented, then error-fixing processes will be tracked over the next two years in six month increments. At the end each six month period, the finance team will submit a report to the executive staff based on the cost of fixing errors. After the completion of the course, each manager will be asked to fill out a course evaluation. These questions are based on the course syllabus and how the objectives can be applied in a manager's specific department. See below: Application of Management Training This piece is a supporting role to the project management process. In order to communicate with all the correct departments, fill out the correct forms, and receive the proper approvals, an employee needs to be able to use the intranet easily and seamlessly. The evaluation of the success of the intranet will be measured with the quality errors in the summative evaluation of the project management software.
 * Project Management Software**
 * Management Training**
 * Intranet development**


 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Summative Evaluation:

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> Application of Management Training 1. Your role as a manager a. What are the top 3 roles that you will need to perform with your team? b. How will you apply the manager effectiveness formula to your team?

2. Performance management a. Give a specific example of how you will use performance management with one of your team members?

3. Effective communication a. List one building block of effective communication that stuck out to you? b. Give a specific example of how could have used that building block in the past? c. Give a specific example of how you can use it in the future?

4. Motivation a. What is the cost of "demotivation" in your department? b. List two specific tasks you will complete to create a motivational climate

5. Influencing others a. What are the three skills of a situational leader? b. What do you think your perceived leadership style is? c. Are you happy with that perception? If yes, why? If no, list one step you will take toward changing it? 6. Delegation a. List one barrier to effective delegation? b. What will you do to avoid or break down that barrier? ||