QSO 321 Project Guidelines and Rubric

QSO 321 Project Guidelines and Rubric

Competencies

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competencies:

• Recommend operations management methods and techniques to increase value for customers
• Evaluate how operations management generates value for an organization
• Explain local, national, and global sustainability in relation to functional areas of business

Scenario

You work as the chief supply-chain officer at the large international corporation, NationaliTeas. NationaliTeas manufactures and sells tea worldwide. Its motto is “Keeping people and their taste buds awake (when they want to be awake).” Its mission is “Make the world more awake through rejuvenating and refreshing beverages and sustainable practices that uplift workers, communities, and souls.” Its vision is “to be the most respected tea manufacturer across at least three continents for our tea and our actions, which will be driven by a commitment ethical sourcing, minimal waste, and empowerment of our employees.”

You would like to establish an operational goal of having your corporation apply for a B Corp Certification within the next two years. You believe this would add value to the organization and help it to prioritize a stronger focus on sustainable operational practices. You have conducted a preassesment based on the recommendations for applying for B Corp Certification, and you have evaluated the corporation’s existing strengths and areas for improvement.

Now you need to develop a proposal for the board of directors that explains why prioritizing the triple bottom line (TBL) through working toward B Corp Certification has organizational value. You must also propose three high-impact initiatives to help strengthen the corporation’s commitment to people, planet, and profit based on your evaluations.

Directions

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

1. Part One: Justification of Benefits: Justify the value of intentionally increasing incorporating the TBL framework into organizational decision making. Identify how ethical business practices regarding people, planet, and profit can benefit society, the environment, and the company’s profit. Specifically, address the following prompts:
   1. Key Components: Explain the three key components of the TBL framework and how each component benefits businesses and society.
   2. Organizational Value: Provide a justification regarding the value and benefits of using the TBL framework to inform corporate decision making and explain connections between the organizational mission and the organizational vision.
   3. B Corporation Benefits: Briefly describe the organizational benefits of attaining B Corp Certification.
2. Part Two: Operational Recommendations: Read the “Project Preassessment Evaluation Summary” which is linked in the Supporting Materials section below for each aspect of the TBL (people, profit, and planet). You will need to provide a detailed description of the initiatives that will create the needed improvement. You should note the organizational and societal value of the initiative along with the operational management techniques recommended to plan and complete each initiative. For each of your three initiatives, address the following prompts:
   1. Organizational Impacts: Describe the organizational benefits of each initiative, specifically noting the expected positive impact of completing each. Examples of positive impacts include better alignment to the organization’s mission, vision, and culture statements; increased amounts of funds or resources saved; and improvements to the organization’s brand.
   2. Societal Impacts: Describe the societal benefits of each initiative, specifically noting the expected positive impact of completing each. Examples of positive impacts include increased community building and positive environmental impact.
   3. Customer Impacts: Describe the consumer benefits of each selected initiative, specifically noting the expected positive impact of completing each. Examples of positive impacts include increased alignment to target markets, improved product access and availability, and improved customer satisfaction.
   4. Business Risks: Explain the business risks associated with prioritizing, planning, and resourcing each initiative and how these risks will be considered and monitored.
   5. Operational Management Techniques: Recommend an operational management strategy or technique (for example, project management, lean manufacturing, or Six Sigma) that is appropriate to implement for each selected initiative and explain why.
   6. Defining Requirements and Scope: Define the requirements for the successful implantation of each selected initiative and its scope. Describe how changes to the requirements and scope would impact timelines, budget, and risk.
   7. Roles and Responsibilities: Explain the key internal and external stakeholders involved in planning and implementing each selected initiative and why each identified stakeholder is needed to successfully implement the initiatives.

What to Submit

To complete this project, you must submit your project using one of the two formats listed below. Note that your submission should include both Part One and Part Two of your project. For either format, sources should be cited according to APA style.

• Written Report: Submit a 1,500- to 1,700-word Microsoft Word document.
• Slideshow Presentation: Submit a 10- to 12-slide presentation with speakers notes. Your slideshow should be submitted as a PowerPoint or PDF document. Examples of tools that could be used to create your slideshow include the following programs:
  • PowerPoint
  • Canva
  • Prezi

Supporting Materials

The following resource supports your work on the project:

Reading: Project Preassessment Evaluation Summary
This document presents the results of NationaliTeas’s preassessment for attaining B Corp Certification.

Project Rubric

CriteriaExceeds Expectations (100%)Meets Expectations (85%)Partially Meets Expectations (55%)Does Not Meet Expectations (0%)ValueJustification of Benefits: Key ComponentsExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerExplains the three key components of the TBL framework and how each component benefits businesses and societyShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include adding further details and examples to fully explain one or more key components of the TBLDoes not attempt criterion10Justification of Benefits: Organizational ValueExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerProvides a justification regarding the value and benefits of using the TBL framework to inform corporate decision making and explains connections between the organizational mission and the organizational visionShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include adding more or more relevant reasons to incorporate the TBL in decision making or further explaining how the TBL helps an organization’s mission and visionDoes not attempt criterion5Justification of Benefits: B Corporation BenefitsExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerBriefly describes organizational benefits of attaining B Corp CertificationShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include providing further organizational benefits of attaining B Corp CertificationDoes not attempt criterion5Operational Recommendations: Organizational ImpactsExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerDescribes the organizational benefits of each initiative, specifically noting the expected positive impact of completing eachShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include clarifying how each initiative benefits the organization, for example, through alignment to the organization’s mission, vision, and culture statements; increased amounts of funds or resources saved; and improvements to the organization’s brandDoes not attempt criterion10Operational Recommendations: Societal ImpactsExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerDescribes the societal benefits of each initiative, specifically noting the expected positive impact of completing each (e.g., increased community building or positive environmental impact)Shows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include clarifying how completing each initiative benefits society and the positive impact of completing each (e.g., increased community building or positive environmental impact)Does not attempt criterion10Operational Recommendations: Customer ImpactsExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerDescribes the consumer benefits of each selected initiative, specifically noting the expected positive impact of completing each (e.g., increased alignment to target markets, improved product access and availability, or improved customer satisfaction)Shows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include clarifying how each initiative benefits customers, noting the expected positive impact of completing each (e.g., increased alignment to target markets, improved product access and availability, or improved customer satisfaction)Does not attempt criterion10Operational Recommendations: Business RisksExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerExplains the business risks associated with prioritizing, planning, and resourcing each initiative and how these risks will be considered and monitoredShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying more relevant business risks associated with each initiative or adding more detail to clarify the potential risksDoes not attempt criterion10Operational Recommendations: Operational Management TechniquesExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerRecommends an operational management strategy or technique (e.g., project management, lean manufacturing, or Six Sigma) that is appropriate to implement for each selected initiative, and explains whyShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include providing a stronger rationale to support using the suggested operational management strategy based on the strategy, initiative, and company informationDoes not attempt criterion10Operational Recommendations: Defining Requirements and ScopeExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerDefines the requirements for the successful implantation of each selected initiative and its scope, and describes how changes to the requirements and scope would impact timelines, budget, and riskShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying more critical requirements or more relevant metrics to evaluate the success of the initiatives or the impact of changes to scope on initiative planning and resourcingDoes not attempt criterion10Operational Recommendations: Roles and ResponsibilitiesExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerExplains the key internal and external stakeholders involved in planning and implementing each selected initiative and why each identified stakeholder is needed to successfully implement the initiativesShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying more relevant stakeholders or further explaining the relevance of the identified internal and external stakeholders to the initiativesDoes not attempt criterion10Clear CommunicationExceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understandingConsistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audienceShows progress toward meeting expectations, but communication is inconsistent or ineffective in a way that negatively impacts understandingShows no evidence of consistent, effective, or organized communication5Citations and AttributionsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with few or no minor errorsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with consistent minor errorsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with major errorsDoes not use citations for ideas requiring attribution5Total:100%