UNIVERSITY CONSULTING MANAGEMENT RESEARCH QUESTIONS

UNIVERSITY CONSULTING MANAGEMENT RESEARCH QUESTIONS

University Consulting is an experimental learning program offered to students from University University that gives the opportunity to complete 100 hours of virtual internship. However, the program is only 10 weeks in length and the students do not enter the program at the same time. While some students might be on week 1, other might be on week 5. Furthermore, within a few weeks into the program interns can become managers or directors. The organization has different departments and there can be between 80 – 100 interns at a given time. There is a lot of information given on the first day of internship and interns are expected to start participating on that same week. Naturally, interns are very confused for the first few weeks, and since managers have not been there for much longer, sometimes they have a hard time too. Nevertheless, managers, directors, and members of the organization are very helpful and open to answer any questions.

This problem should be dealt with some urgency since interns lose about 2-3 weeks of internship just trying to understand what is expected of them, when they should be taking advantage of the knowledge and opportunity to gain experience for when they graduate. If the problem is not addressed interns risk not being ready with the skills, they need in order to succeed in their field of expertise. The best solution to this problem would be to divide the internship program into 3 school terms. While the student would be taking his/her regular classes, for the 1^st term out of the last 4 terms before they graduate, they would receive information about the internship program and attend meetings with directors and managers who could explain to them how the program works. On the 2^nd of the 4 terms any student hoping to become a manger or director could have the choice to take an intern position at the program so that he/she could learn from experience. On the 3^rd of the 4 terms students could them become manager, by then they would be completely familiar with the organization and would in turn be able to offer much more to other interns who were just staring. Finally, on the 4^th term out of the 4, any interns wishing to continue working with the organization for extra time should be allowed to do so. If University Consulting fails to resolve this problem there can be a direct impact on quality, organizational efficiency, and organizational effectiveness. In the article Effectiveness in Professional Organizations: The Impact of Surgeons and Surgical Staff Organizations on the Quality of Care in Hospitals (2016), the doctors discuss the relative importance of different structural units in a professional organization. Professional organizations represent especially complex systems because many units may contribute toward the performance output. However, if those units are not ready, they will not be effective.

If the solution previously posited were to be implemented, interns would be able to create new products or services because they would have time to develop it during the course of 1 year, because if the program ran for only 10 weeks it would be unpractical to create such big structure.  However, this opportunity should not be rushed into. It is imperative to formulate a plan of action in order to create and offer quality products and services to customers. The first step towards the goal would be to do a market research and as for students to offer their opinions. Students should analyze their surroundings, (where they work, go to the gym, take their kids to school, go grocery shopping). Each student should come up with a number of ideas about services they feel are needed or lacking and products they feel would help in their daily lives.  Since the University has many students all over the country, there is a huge opportunity to really collaborate and capitalize on ideas.  The University is in a unique position to really take advantage of this opportunity. However, as it described in the article A Methodology for Redesigning and Organizational Structure Based on Business Process Models Using SNA Techniques (2011), many companies failed to improve business processes because they were not suitable for organizational structure. In order to achieve a successful business process improvement, organizational system and the operating system would need to be reformed. It is imperative that processes and organizational structure interact so that goals and expectations are achieved.

As stated before, students the University come from all over United States and each one of them bring their own experiences and uniqueness. However, within an organization there has to be a conjoint effort to work as one. Every organization should always have appropriate principles, concepts, and frameworks for making ethical decisions, but in the case of University Consulting even more so because of the diversity of staff’s background.  Problems related to principles, concepts and ethics are urgent because through those concepts employees will know what to expect and what is expected of them. An organization cannot hope to become successful if those kind of problems are not resolved. In order to anticipate the problem, the organization should create frameworks to present to interns upon start of the program. All interns should sign the document acknowledging they understand what is expected of them. However, developing principle, concepts, and framework for ethics is not an easy task. Organizations have to be very careful not to make mistakes that will cost the organization their employees and reputation. Patricia O’Connor and Susan Godar (1999) argue that because many people in society believe that something is morally right, it therefore is morally right, is to commit the fallacy of common consensus. However, the error is that the fact that belief is widely accepted does not itself demonstrate that the belief is correct. If it did we would have to conclude that at one time the earth was flat and at the center of the universe. The organization should always consider the social impact the framework of ethics will have the organization and the society as a whole.

Managers and directors have the hard task and responsibility of leading by example. However, In the case of University Consulting managers and directors have the position for only a few weeks until they are replaced by someone else. The problem organizational structure is that leadership are not completely prepared to undertake the responsibilities of the position, and therefore, cannot lead by example. As with any problems dealing with management, it is important that a solution if found as quickly as possible since any organization, no matter the size, depends heavily on being structured sound. If the problem is not solved the organization will have to deal with internal disarray and chaos, that will in turn affect productivity and quality of services and products. The link between leadership, organizational structure, and performance has been a hard to measure because most of the indicators are aimed at business sector, such as profit, market position, and reputation. Xuanhui Liu and Wouter Van Dooren posit that might be the reason why other researchers have different indicators to measure organizational performance. Therefore, even though it is hard to unequivocally confirm that managers and leadership have an effect in organizational structure we can agree that it is better to be safe than sorry and make sure that management and leadership can maintain an functional organizational structure.

Even though interns do not work at University Consulting for a long period of time, it has been successful in servicing nonprofit organizations University Consulting has been in business for about 4 years now and it has had some good experiences. The organization should be ready to evolve once more and start charging for its services. However, since there is no urgency to bring revenue into the organization, interns would have time to devise an efficient strategy. The main purpose of University Consulting is still to educate more than to be profitable, therefore, the president should evaluate the risks and benefits and make an educated decision if the change should be made. The importance of gathering all the information before committing is enormous because there are many aspects to consider before starting the process, like legal implications and labor considerations. If the president decides to make the change, the first step should be to conduct a SWOT analysis. According to the article, “A Situational Analysis of a Strategic Marketing Plan” (2016), SWOT analysis aids in decision-making across the organizational board and creates an understanding of the organization; it also creates goals, strategies, and implementation practices.

The internship program was created with the intention to help students acquire career knowledge, management skills and ability. It is very important that they do because when recently graduated professionals look for their first job, they lack in experience, therefore, they need other skills. Although the internship program is short, it is still a glimpse of what will be expected of them. Interns should take the most advantage possible from the program because every week that they miss they will lose in knowledge and knowhow. The program can also help interns with anxiety from not knowing what to expect, knowing how to act around management and leadership, and learning to communicate better. Unfortunately, if students do not take the advantage of the opportunity to learn and gain experience, there is no way of turning back. In the article organizational culture (2016), experts widely consider that organizational culture is the most important determinant of behavior in organizations. It is also understood as one of the factors that can be managed in order to improve performance and efficiency.

What is KapConsulting?

What is KapConsulting?

Introduction

The role of a KapConsulting, LLC Human Resource Recruiter is fulfilling the requirements of the business by hiring and retaining KapConsulting student recruits.  The HR Recruiter’s path to success is to work closely with KapConsulting management to assist in developing recruiting documentation and streamlining the process of onboarding new student recruits.  The HR Recruiter position is challenging and fast paced, as there are many different facets to the job.  The Recruiter will send evites, emails, and call prospective interns to get them the information they need in order to make the decision to take the internship. The Recruiter will work with the prospective intern one on one to answer any questions. They are to complete any other HR Recruiting duties that are assigned to them by their Human Resource Management Team. 

 

Information Management, Planning, and Control in Business Environments

     

Evaluate the Information Management, Planning and Control in KapConsulitng, LLC. Human Resource Department:  “The job of discovering and hiring people has traditionally been only a small part of the overall HR function.  This has been true in spite of the fact that the recruiting job has always been a central fixture of the HR program, and that the person who performs the process well must exhibit a great number and variety of skills, abilities, aptitudes, behaviors, knowledge -- must be competent in several areas of performance rivaling those of the HR generalist. It's about time that recruiters -- staffing professionals -- were given their due. (Beebee, 1996).  There has been a reorganization of the KapConsulting business as of March 8, 2016.  The HR Generalist and Recruiting departments have joined forces and merged.  It was recognized that HR and Business Process departments had to become one in order to make the organization stronger and more efficient. The use of Google Drive has enabled the organization to create a centralized repository for recruiting documentation.  This allows for everyone in the company to join forces in order to share and edit documentation as needed.  The utilization of Podio is a unique tool that offers the ability for students to pose questions and obtain information on recorded training sessions.      

Analyze organizational processes and procedures in a variety of business settings.

 The two department Vice Presidents are heading up the department merge.  The main focus is to allow for a smoother on-boarding process, develop more effective training processes and standardize the process of how each KapConsulting organization will work succinctly and seamlessly together. 

Working in a virtual environment, the importance of communication is stressed and is a very critical component to this type of working environment.  Another vital component to keeping with their role in this internship, is learning the art of time management.  Learning how to plan out their week out carefully in order to reach the required ten hours of internship, along with completing their weekly course requirements.

In a virtual business environment, there are important components that are needed in order to make the business a success.  The intern has to understand how the business works.  They have to learn the processes and procedures specific to their individual departments and to KapConsulting as a whole. 

·      It is observed that consistent and thorough communication with their peers and their management is key. 

·      Having a competent manager assigned to the intern is a critical component.  Without proper direction, the business will fail.  The Management must be available to the intern and if they can’t respond within the allotted 24 hour timeframe, it should be escalated up the ladder (i.e. Director, VP. Etc.)

·      Attending all mandatory meetings is vital to the intern’s success.  Although the intern has the ability to listen to the recorded meeting, it is to their advantage to attend the meeting live.  This enables them to ask questions and submit suggestions live. 

·      Making sure the intern clocks in for all internship work is important.  Since the policy is to have at least 10 hours logged in a week, this is a way to document your hours.  It is just as important to describe what they did during that time. 

·      Having a Weekly Activity Sheet prepared at the end of each week is also a key component to this virtual business as it shows your management exactly you have accomplished during that week.

Without these critical components, a virtual business setting cannot succeed.  These components help KapConsulting stay organized and keep the business on track.  What can be improved is the reliability of the timeclockfree app.  The phone app is convenient but is not reliable.  The website is faulty as well.  A new time clock application is recommended.

Assess the roles that structure, management, and leadership play in organizational performance.

As an intern in the HR Recruiting department, it is reinforced that the proper reporting structure is to be adhered to.  Andrew Sharp is the current Manager of HR Manager. 

The main goal of HR management is to accomplish smooth transition for students entering their internship, while reducing confusion as much as possible.  The HR Manager then reports to Anthony Vargas who is the current HR Director, Blake Townsend who is the current VP and Robert Castrowho is the head of KapConsulting. 

Evaluate career skills in the field of business and management

This week the interns began to develop and hone their career skill sets.  Working in a virtual business environment, it is important to keep in mind that even though we are not seen physically, we are heard.  The tone and delivery of the employee should be in a professional manner.  If they are presenting, they should be equipped with accompanying notes and their presentation should be rehearsed in advance.  Communication is key in this internship.  This was stressed to the recruits more than once during the course of the first week. 

  If the employee is holding a meeting from their home, they should make sure there are no background noises interfering their speech.  It is very distracting, let alone very unprofessional to hear babies crying and dogs barking in the background.  .  This displays unprofessionalism and can turn a person off to your presentation.  This can prove to be dangerous to ones career as their audience can easily lose their interest, thus ruining your credibility.  Making sure you pronounce a person’s name correctly is important, and if you are not secure with how to pronounce it, it is proper to apologize in advance for any errors.  Presentations must be clear and concise and names are to be checked to be spelled correctly. 

Know your audience. Your presentation must be geared to the rank/level of employees that will be your audience. If you are presenting to the Vice President, your content should be apropos to the Vice President.  The higher you present to within managerial rank, the higher level your presentation content must be.  Create an agenda.  The agenda is what you will refer to in order to keep the meeting running on target and on time”. 

Conclusion

            The cost to any organization can be harsh if one recruit’s the wrong candidate for a role.  It is imperative that the HR Recruiter does their due diligence in researching how important an employee’s success is for the company’s success. The costs to a company can be severe when "almost anyone" takes on the recruiters duties. This emphasis on the idea of its people being a company's greatest resource has -- at least in the literature -- never been more intense. And once a company begins to recognize the infinite value of its employees, it must also gain a greater appreciation of the staffing function and for the recruiting personnel who actually discover and hire those people who can make a company succeed (Beebee, 1996).

REFERENCES

Beebee, B. (1997).  Competencies of the competent recruiter.  Retrieved form http://search.proquest.com.lib.kaplan.edu/education/docview/197911863/83D02F21E15F48E0PQ/7?accountid=34544

          

             Lawler, Edward E., Boudreau, John W. (2015).  Global Trends in Human Resource Management: A Twenty-year Analysis.  Retrieved from

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.lib.kaplan.edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzk4NjExNV9fQU41?sid=27b23b02-abb4-43e5-aa92-d962bee7231a@sessionmgr114&vid=9&format=EK&ppid=Page-__-71

Student Run Internship Organization

Kaplan Radio

KapRadio is completely intern run and has been since founders Professor Marty McDermott and Kevin Cojanu started the station on May 19, 2012.  The radio station is internet based and broadcasted. KapRadio provides more than just music, they also do work with non-profit entities by creating radio commercials, conducting research and promoting non-profit causes though social media.

There are several different departments within KapRadio that help to keep the station running smoothly. The manager is in charge and oversees all activities as well as coordinates projects. The scheduler creates new playlists and puts them into rotation on the radio. The editor is in charge of making sure any content put out by KapRadio is valid and free of error. Our social media director keeps all accounts updated with what’s going on at KapRadio and connects with listeners in a fun way. The consultant is the liaison and point of contact for all special projects as well as other departments.

During my time at KapRadio I held two different positions. The first was as the KapRadio Social Media Director. In this position I recreated social media sites for the station on Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn. All previous log-in information had been lost which resulted in the brand new accounts having to be created. This also led me to create training material for interns about how to make posts as well as how to pass on ownership of the sites. I also made frequent posts on these sites to support non-profit entities like Toys for Tots and Team Tassey. I also held the position of senior scheduler. In this position I created playlist and put them into rotation on the radio and maintained the stations schedule. I also worked with other departments to create radio commercials for non-profits and put them into rotation. Occasionally I would help with special projects when they were assigned.  

During our weekly KapRadio AHOD meetings, we had training sessions to learn how to use the programs necessary to convert music from YouTube into mp3s. We used Audacity, Studio365 and Live365. We received supervision in the form of accountability when projects were completed. We were required to keep our manager updated on what was going on with projects we were working on. We would send emails to inform our manager of when projects were completed as well as to give updates when projects took a longer than expected.

This experience has been a whirlwind of highs and lows. The onboarding process was frustrating because it felt so disorganized and I received no contact for several days. Once someone reached out to me I quickly jumped into my position and enjoyed being a part of the KapRadio team. I loved being able to use my creative side to create playlists as well as creating training material for the social media sites. Although there were many great parts of this internship, I did feel frustration with feeling like I was only doing busy work. I hope for future interns that KapRadio can do more collaboration with other departments in order to do more intellectually challenging work.

This internship as well as the experiential learning course was different from any of my other classes at Kaplan University thus far. All of my education came into play to help me through this internship because of what I had learned. The class that stood out to me the most as helpful was team dynamics. I was able to start the internship with knowledge about how communication in teams work. I also have greatly improved my writing capabilities during my time at Kaplan and this helped me to clearly writing training material for the social media sites. I also utilized resources at Kaplan such as previous textbooks and the Kaplan Library that helped me to be a better intern.

The biggest organizational problem was with the onboarding process. There was a major lack of organization to get interns into their department. The confusion led to frustration that made me feel like the organization was not professional and something I would want to be a part of. There was a string of non-descriptive emails that were supposed to be the training and onboarding packet that was not sufficient for getting students up to speed. There was no direct name given to me to contact to ask questions to and I had to go to my academic dean for help because no one would give me a contact name. It took a whole day of searching to finally be reached by someone to answer my questions and it was a problem that seemed to frustrate many other students as well.

With the biggest issue being confusion the most beneficial recommendation would to give each new intern a name and telephone number of someone from their department that they can ask questions to. There should also be prerecorded welcome videos that train employees on how to use all the different technologies required for their internship. A detailed handbook should be created for each department that outlines the roles and expectations for the position each intern can hold. There should also be a descriptive week 1 to do list for each department so that new interns can be up to speed on everything they could possibly need to know about their department.

There would be many benefits to the entire KapConsulting company if they choose to follow my recommendations. Interns would start out with a strong understanding of what the internship is about. More informed interns mean that they can begin productive work much sooner. There would be an increased rate of productivity because interns would not fumble around the first few weeks while they try to figure out what is going on. KapConsulting could even take on more complex projects because interns would have a higher level of understanding. There would be increased organization for the onboarding process and points of reference any time an intern had a questions about the internship.