Task 2

Learning Objectives Consider the following learning objectives as you move through the lesson: Explain how the four management functions relate to different management activities. Explain the difference between efficiency and effectiveness. Explain how conceptual, human, and technical skills are relevant to managers. Define ten roles that managers perform in organizations. Describe the innovative use of management principles. Explain major developments in the history of management theory. Preparing for Task 2: Section A The following section is designed to help you prepare for the submission of Task 2 of the performance assessment. Writing Resources Before you begin Task 2, please refer to the WGU Writing Center. General writing questions: The WGU Writing Center: Home Page Articulation and organization: I Need Help with Professional Communication A place to visit before submitting Task 2: Integrated Performance Assessment Submission Student Portal Video WGU Library: Library Tips for Task 2: Organization and Leader Analysis Please use the following tips to help you complete your leadership analysis. Write this paper in the third person. Read through the entire task instructions and rubric requirements prior to completing Task 2. Use a different scholarly leadership theory in Task 2 than the one chosen in Task 1. Note: The current leader that you choose must be someone other than yourself. The paper should be 1016 pages, not including the cover page and references. Please be both descriptive (who, what, when, and where), and explanatory (why and how). Evaluators assess your paper based on the specificity of your response, not on the generalizations. Note: Meeting the rubric criteria is more important than writing a number of pages. A. Organization Description Describe an existing organization with which you have had personal experience and where you have either had direct access to a leader or have been able to observe a leader. Describe the organization’s objectives. The organization can be a for-profit or a nonprofit business, and you may represent any level of the organization (e.g., the team, department, division, or whole) in your analysis. You must change the name of the organization and employee names. Provide a detailed discussion of the organization. Discuss the history and background of the organization. Discuss the vision and mission of the organization. Discuss the purpose and objectives of the organization. Think of the goals, financial objectives, and strategic objectives of the organization. Provide citations where needed. A1. Leadership Practices In this section, you will provide specific descriptions of three leadership practices of the current leader. The current leader must be someone other than yourself. Provide specific examples that illustrate the practice. Clearly state the leader’s title and (fictitious) name. The leader analyzed in A1 will be the same leader analyzed in C1, C2, and C3. Write a separate paragraph on each of the three practices. Note: A leadership practice (or function) is different from a leadership theory. This section, A1, only discusses practice, not theory. Example: One leadership practice of the CEO is to provide strategic leadership to the organization. In the performance of this responsibility, the CEO forms the organization’s vision and mission while forming and implementing strategy. The value of strategic leadership is determining the organization’s direction by effectively managing the organization’s resources in pursuit of the organization’s vision. (This is a small draft of the leadership practice narrative. You are required to illustrate further how the individual performs the leadership responsibility and what value the responsibility provides to the organization.) A2. Effects of Current Leader on Culture In this section, discuss how the current leader of the organization has affected the culture based on their underlying beliefs, assumptions, and values. A leader’s values and beliefs shape the culture of an organization. Organizational culture is defined as the underlying beliefs, assumptions, values, and ways of interacting that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization. Describe how the leader has affected the organization’s culture in a positive or negative manner. Provide examples to support your analysis. Learning Objectives Consider the following learning objectives as you move through the lesson: Describe how to perform a SWOT analysis to evaluate a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Explain several common strategic tools. Apply strategic tools for strategy formulations to improve organizational performance. Preparing for Task 2: Section B The following section is designed to help you prepare for the submission of Task 2 of the performance assessment. B. SWOT Analysis In this section, conduct a SWOT analysis of the chosen organization. In this analysis, please address the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the organization. Remember, strengths are positive, weaknesses are negative, opportunities are unmet, and threats are unresolved. The SWOT analysis should be at the same level as the organization used in the organization description from Section A (e.g., the team, department, division, or whole). Note: The accepted model for a SWOT analysis defines strengths and weaknesses as internal to the organization and opportunities and threats as external to the organization. B1. Current Strengths In this section, discuss two of the organization’s current strengths, including specific details. Address how the strengths you identify have a positive impact on the organization. When assessing the strengths, think about the various functions such as finance, marketing, research, and development, etc. Write a separate paragraph for each of the two strengths. B2. Current Weaknesses In this section, discuss two of the organization’s current weaknesses, including specific details. Address how the weaknesses you identify have a negative impact on the organization. When assessing the weaknesses, think about the various functions such as finance, marketing, research and development, and so forth. Write a separate paragraph for each of the two weaknesses. B3. Current Opportunities In this section, discuss two of the organization’s current unmet opportunities, including specific details on how the opportunities have the potential to benefit or improve the organization. When assessing the opportunities, think about the various areas of potential benefit or improvement for the organization, such as technology, monetary policies, market changes, and so forth. Write a separate paragraph for each of the two opportunities. Note: The opportunity needs to be external to the organization. B4. Current Threats In this section, discuss two of the organization’s current unresolved threats. Include specific details on how the threats identified have the potential to threaten or harm the organization. When assessing the threats, think about the various areas of potential threat or harm such as technology, competitors, monetary policies, government, and so forth. Write a separate paragraph for each of the two threats. Note: The threat needs to be external to the organization. Learning Objectives Consider the following learning objectives as you move through the lesson: Define the forces that drive organizational change. Describe how people and organizational culture affect change management. Preparing for Task 2: Section C The following section is designed to help you prepare for the submission of Task 2 of the performance assessment. C. Leadership Evaluation In this section, perform a leadership analysis of your current leader’s top three strengths and weaknesses, and make three recommendations to improve their leadership effectiveness. Apply one theory to all three sections: C1, C2, and C3. Note: The theory you choose must be different from the one you chose in Task 1. Transformational leadership Transactional leadership Situational leadership Participative leadership Servant leadership Behavioral leadership Trait theory of leadership Note: It is highly recommended that you use at least three distinct and unique scholarly sources to support the scholarly leadership theory. C1. Strengths of the Current Leader In this section, discuss three strengths of your chosen leader, describing in detail how the three strengths you identified align with the chosen scholarly leadership theory. This task requires: scholarly research specific examples to support each strength, and include at least one in-text citation using a scholarly source a separate paragraph for each of the three strengths Note: A scholarly source could be a reputable journal, a published book, or any source from a business leader or university faculty member. Scholarly sources also include any article or book in the WGU library. C2. Weaknesses of the Current Leader In this section, discuss three weaknesses of your chosen leader, describing in detail how the three weaknesses that you identified align with the chosen scholarly leadership theory. This task requires: scholarly research the use of the same scholarly leadership theory you used in C1 specific examples to support each weakness, and includes at least one in-text citation using a scholarly source a separate paragraph for each of the three weaknesses C3. Recommendations for the Current Leader Now that you have evaluated the current leader’s strengths and weaknesses, recommend three specific actions, behaviors, or practices that would improve the current leader’s effectiveness in leading people and organizations. The recommendations address the current leaders identified leadership weaknesses and align with the chosen scholarly leadership theory. This section of the task requires scholarly research. Use the same scholarly leadership theory you used in C1. Provide specific examples to support each actionable item, and include at least one in-text citation using scholarly sources. Write a separate paragraph for each of the three recommendations. D. Sources (Reference Page) Your paper is required to include in-text citations that correlate to your reference page. All sources require a corresponding in-text citation, and all in-text citations require a corresponding source on the reference page.