Discussion 5: Projects and Processes 

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Topic

What is a project?

What is a process?

How do projects differ from business processes?

What are the main factors that cause projects to fail?

Instructions

Initial post will be due by Thursday and responses to at least two (2) other classmates’ posts between Thursday and Saturday. 

Responses to classmates’ posts should have at least 150 words. Responses should be substantive (having substance, more depth than just “I agree/disagree,” “Good answers”). Remember to be respectful and courteous to others when you are communicating in any online open forum. Your discussion comments and replies should be supportive and kind; do not be openly critical of what someone else posts.  If you do not like or agree with what another classmate has posted you do not need to reply to that student – simply reply to someone else’s initial post. And if you find something that someone else has posted to be offensive or grossly incorrect you should email your instructor about it.

For this assignment, you will create a sponsorship proposal on behalf of the Jayhawkville United FC team that will target a major sponsor. The target sponsor can be any existing brand in any product category. Your sponsorship proposal will include:

An in-depth description of the relevant features of the property (Jayhawkville United FC)

A detailed description (psychographics, demographics, other relevant features) of JUFC’s target market(s)

• A specific and detailed explication of the fit (target market, image, etc.) and relevance between the property and target sponsor
• A detailed description of the specific inventory (assets) being offered to the target sponsor
• The cost of the proposed sponsorship deal to the target sponsor. [While we hope to see some details and justification regarding the price points you estimate, we understand that gauging these numbers based solely on publicly available information can be challenging. Therefore, please provide estimates at whatever level of detail seems feasible. If providing only the total estimate based on existing examples is all you can do, that’s perfectly acceptable].
• Additional Instructions:
• A comprehensive evaluation of the target market will require reflecting on the MLS and soccer target market.

When evaluating the inventory offered, think about the specific types of benefits discussed in the textbook and the sample inventory included in the ‘Learning Resources’ for this module as well as what you know about Jayhawkville Unted FC and Jayhawkville Stadium.

Similar to your M5 Discussion post, you should estimate the cost by using elements of competitive market strategy approach (i.e., by exploring the costs of similar sponsorships in the market).

While we do not require adherence to any specific sponsorship proposal template, the proposal should be presented in the style of a business report or proposal. Below are a couple of examples for inspiration. Please note, these are just examples, and even if a template you prefer does not include a specific element outlined in the assignment prompt (e.g., discussion of fit), you still need to include it.

• Sponsorship proposal template #1 (Sponsorship Collective)Download Sponsorship proposal template #1 (Sponsorship Collective)
• Sponsorship proposal template #2 (HubSpot)Download Sponsorship proposal template #2 (HubSpot)
• Sponsorship proposal template #3 (University of Tasmania)Download Sponsorship proposal template #3 (University of Tasmania)
• Remember, the best proposals are going to be those that are backed up with relevant facts, statistics, and a rationale for each element of the proposal. Be thorough and include at least seven outside resources.

This assignment pertains to the content you learned in this module and Jayhawkville.

• Click on the “Jayhawkville” tab in the left-hand navigation.

Then select the “Community” tab

Choose “Sports Facilities”

Select “Jayhawkville Stadium”

Case 8: Is Hiring Candidates with Criminal Records Wise or Risky?

Let’s start with some perspective: 33 percent. That is the proportion of working-age Americans with a criminal record. Each year approximately 650,000 people are released from prison, which is about the same as the population of Memphis, TN, or Portland, OR. All of their offenses are not equal of course, but before hastily deciding whether you would hire somebody with a record or not it helps to consider just how many people have this label.

Many hiring managers and companies have knee-jerk reactions to exclude such candidates, as reflected on many applications with the infamous box, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime? Yes or No.” When job markets are flush with candidates, excluding these candidates may not be such a problem. However, when the job market is hot and labor is tight, many companies across industries might think differently. And of course, some companies, industries, and geographies are confronted with seemingly eternal talent shortages regardless of the economy. This means such exclusionary policies may shrink an already small talent pool.

Putting the economy and labor market aside, individuals and companies excluding those with records typically do so on the grounds of limiting their liability and/or ensuring employee and customer safety. On the other side of this argument are those who feel people should be given a second chance: they’ve paid their debt to society. Research done by the Society of Human Resource Management found the three top reasons reported for hiring candidates with criminal records were: (1) desire to hire the best available candidate, (2) give workers a second chance, and (3) improve the community.

Many have argued it is unfair for criminals to be forever handicapped in the job market because of a past offense. This has led many states and cities to “ban the box” and require companies to wait until a hiring decision has been made before doing a criminal record check. On the other side of this argument is that waiting until late in the hiring process costs companies and individuals time and money, and therefore they should be allowed to gather and consider that information at the beginning.

Once you make your initial post, you will be able to see what your teammates posted. Make sure to respond to at LEAST TWO of the posts made by your teammates.

1. What is the problem? (or dilemma!)
2. What are the causes behind the problem? (You will have a look a little deeper into the case to see what problems firms are facing and why)
3. What solutions do you propose? (The case suggests a course of action- what more can you do as a HR manager?)

Case 7 – Biased Feedback Increases Employee Exit Rates, Study Says

By Mark Feffer -September 22, 2023

Although the pervasiveness of bias in the workplace has gotten increasing attention in recent years, the on-the-ground challenges haven’t changed much, according to new research from Textio.

In the last decade, “what hasn’t changed are the same broad patterns of bias in feedback that show up in the workplace year after year,” said Textio CEO Kieran Snyder.

And there’s a clear connection between the quality of performance feedback and employee retention rates, the report said. A key finding: Employers can change their retention patterns by making sure all employees regularly receive clear and actionable feedback.

Research published last year by Textio found that women, Black and Hispanic workers systematically received significantly lower-quality feedback than their coworkers. This year, Textio’s report, Language Bias in Performance Feedback, found not much has changed during the intervening months: women and people of color continue to receive the lowest-quality feedback, and those groups are leaving their employers at the highest rates.

Low Quality, Low Action

Among the report’s findings:

Over 50% of employees received at least some feedback that was not actionable.

People receiving low-quality feedback are 63% more likely to leave their organizations than others, and 38% show risks of attrition in their current roles.

Black employees get 26% more unactionable feedback than non-Black employees, despite only receiving 79% as much feedback overall.

Most men, 83%, say they understand what’s required to earn their next promotion. In comparison, just 71% of women, non-binary and transgender people, and only 54% of Asian people of all genders, feel the same way.

People who get performance reviews containing “I think” hedging statements are 29% more likely to leave the company within a year.

In addition, women and people of color consistently receive lower-quality feedback than white men, the report said. As a result, they’re far more likely to leave their company within 12 months.

Bias About Bias

Those who believe generative AI and similar technologies will help address bias should bear in mind that end users – employees and candidates – aren’t sold on the idea. For example, a significant number of employed job seekers believe AI recruiting tools are more biased than their human counterparts.

Such concerns aren’t new. A 2019 report from NYU’s AI Now Institute found that, like most of the technology sector, the employees of companies building AI solutions are largely male and white.

“We live in a biased world, so AI systems absorb this training data and may correctly replicate decisions humans make,” John Harney, CTO of DataScava, a New York-based provider of unstructured data-mining solutions, said at the time. “Do we expect AI systems to somehow filter out bias when we can’t?” Solutions to that conundrum aren’t easy, he said. From a technical point of view, creating such filters can’t help but reduce a system’s intelligence – even though they produce unintended outcomes.

What is/are the problem/s?

What are the causes? (The article gives you a lot of possible causes, what do you think? Apply your subject knowledge and personal experience to understand why this issue is happening. The article mainly talks about things from an international perspective. How do these problems translate to a US context?)

What solutions do you propose? 

Establish Budgeting Process and Cash Management standard operating procedures 

This SOP shall outlines the steps and guidelines for creating, reviewing, and approving the annual budget for the organization and outlines the procedures for managing cash flow, including cash collections, disbursements, and cash forecasting.. with supporting attachments.