I was wondering if some1 could help me in the right direction with this assignment.
Background
Ten years ago, you started working as a clerk for DMD Medical Supplies. Six months ago, Liz Jakowski, the human
resources director, promoted you to office manager. You manage two employees: Jack Snyder and Ruth Disselkoen. Your office provides secretarial support for the four members
of the executive team. Two years ago, Liz had assigned Jack to support Ralph Alane and Jessica Hilo. Ruth was assigned to Samuel Daley and Frank Daley. The work flow was equally balanced. You’ve noticed that in the last three months Ruth has cut her
breaks short to complete her work, complains of being tired,
and at least twice a month requires overtime hours costing the company an additional $200 a month. In the last three weeks, Frank Daley has complained to you a few times about the poor quality of Ruth’s work. On the other hand, over the last three months, Jack frequently seems to have little to do. He has begun coming in late a couple times a week and taking more than the allotted break times. What work he does have, however, is always professionally completed.
Clearly, you must investigate to determine what is causing this change and how to improve the situation. Since nothing has changed in the personal lives of either Jack or Ruth, you
conclude you must focus on the in-office work situation. You
learn the following facts:
• Samuel and Frank Daley share a part-time administrative
assistant who works only 15 hours a week.
• Ralph Alane and Jessica Hilo share a full-time administrative
assistant.
• Jessica Hilo has been on medical leave for the last four
months, and Liz Jakowski isn’t sure whether Jessica will
be able to return to work.
• Jessica’s duties have been temporarily reassigned to
Ralph and Frank.
Although you don’t have the authority to change the work assignments of the two administrative assistants or the
executive team, you clearly need to change your office assignments so that both Jack and Ruth work regularly
without requiring overtime.
Process
1. The background explains the primary cause of the workflow problem and the negative effects resulting from it.
Your task is to make up a realistic plan which solves the uneven productivity between Jack and Ruth. Use
prewriting tools like brainstorming, cluster or webbing diagrams, and freewriting to outline the cause-effect
situation and to develop a specific solution that best solves the problem. Also ask yourself the following
questions to expand your prewriting.
• How long has this situation been going on?
• Why did the problems begin when they did?
• Am I able to solve the problem at its root cause or
am I only able to manage the impact of the problem?
• Is this a temporary or permanent problem?
• How has the company been affected?
• How have the employees been affected?
• What’s in my power to change? What must stay the same?
• What are two or three ways to improve the efficiency of my office?
• How much work, time, and money would be required to implement each solution?
• Does each solution stop all the negative effects?
• Are there any benefits to the change beyond stopping what is occurring?
• How exactly would each change affect Jack, Ruth, and the executive team?
• What would I have to do to make sure each change goes through as planned and to monitor the situation once the solution is in place?
2. From your prewriting, develop the single best solution to the situation described in the background. Obviously, you won’t be able to use everything you’ve prewritten, so your first step
is to choose what’s most important for the purpose and audience. As you outline a solution, you may need to make
up more specific details that define the steps of the plan and describe particular benefits of the plan.
3. Next, sort your details and information about the problem and
the plan into one of the two sections given below. Don’t worry about complete sentences for this sorting stage; merely
list the information under the appropriate section. Use information from both the background and your prewriting.
Section 1
• Facts and figures that define the problem (the cause)
• Details that show the impact of the problem (effects) on
Jack, Ruth, and the company
Section 2
• The steps needed to change the situation
• Reason to implement each step, including the benefits to your employees, your supervisor, and the company
• Information about your role in the change
I've seen this assignment before, and basically this is what you need to do:
1. Read everything very carefully, of course.
2. Then write up your solution according to these directions:
From your prewriting, develop the single best solution to the situation described in the background. Obviously, you won’t be able to use everything you’ve prewritten, so your first step is to choose what’s most important for the purpose and audience. As you outline a solution, you may need to make up more specific details that define the steps of the plan and describe particular benefits of the plan.
3. Next, sort your details and information about the problem and
the plan into one of the two sections given below. Don’t worry about complete sentences for this sorting stage; merely list the information under the appropriate section. Use information from both the background and your prewriting.
Section 1
• Facts and figures that define the problem (the cause)
• Details that show the impact of the problem (effects) on Jack, Ruth, and the company
Section 2
• The steps needed to change the situation
• Reason to implement each step, including the benefits to your employees, your supervisor, and the company
• Information about your role in the change
I need a bit more help than this.
The way it is worded is the reason I don't understand the assignment.
Well, I'm not a mind-reader. You'll need to tell me what part you don't understand. It seems very straight-forward to me.
Let me know.
awaiting answer
Why I want to be a nurse
awaiting answer on the essay
What is the facts and figures that define the problem(cause)
I am also struggling with this assignment because the instructions say to pre-write 2 paragraphs: the first one defines the problem; the second suggests a possible solution. However, when you go further in the directions, one is told to take the 2nd paragraph, separate it into two sections and write the assignment just detailing your proposed solution in one paragraph, and the reasons why it will be beneficial in the second. I could do it easily if my pre-writing paragraphs were each the basis of the assignment. However, when I am told to divide the 2nd paragraph and make 2 paragraphs out of it, I am lost. What was the point of pre-writing the first paragraph defining the problem, if I am not going to use it?
To develop a plan to solve the uneven productivity between Jack and Ruth, you first need to understand the cause-effect situation and then outline a specific solution that addresses the problem. Use prewriting tools like brainstorming, clustering or webbing diagrams, and freewriting to gather information and ideas. Consider the following questions to expand your prewriting:
1. How long has this situation been going on?
2. Why did the problems begin when they did?
3. Are you able to solve the problem at its root cause or can you only manage the impact of the problem?
4. Is this a temporary or permanent problem?
5. How has the company been affected?
6. How have the employees been affected?
7. What aspects of the situation can you change? What must remain the same?
8. What are two or three ways to improve the efficiency of your office?
9. How much work, time, and money would be required to implement each solution?
10. Does each solution effectively address all the negative effects?
11. Are there any additional benefits to the proposed changes?
12. How would each change specifically affect Jack, Ruth, and the executive team?
13. What steps need to be taken to ensure that each change goes through as planned and how will you monitor the situation once the solution is implemented?
Once you have completed your prewriting, you can move on to developing the single best solution to the situation described in the background. Choose the most important information and ideas from your prewriting to outline a solution. You may need to include specific details that define the steps of the plan and describe the benefits it will bring.
After outlining your solution, you can sort the details and information into two sections:
Section 1:
- Facts and figures that define the problem (the cause)
- Details that show the impact of the problem on Jack, Ruth, and the company
Section 2:
- The steps needed to change the situation
- Reasons to implement each step, including the benefits to your employees, your supervisor, and the company
- Information about your role in the change
By organizing your information into these two sections, you can clearly present the problem and propose a solution that addresses it effectively.