10 Jan Outline and assess

Assessment 1

Assessment Instructions

Create an 8–10 page staff augmentation plan.

Note: The assessments in this course build upon each other. They should be completed in sequence.

Preparation

Read the following scenario. It will be used as a basis for this and other assessments in the course.

Search the Internet and the Capella Library for current (within three years) professional or trade magazines and reputable business publications for information on staff augmentation.

Scenario

Galaxy Center Solutions (Galaxy) is a North Dakota-based call center services company with 200 employees. It offers customer care solutions for clients seeking phone support for their products or services. North Dakota was chosen as the original location for the call center 10 years ago for its relatively educated and inexpensive work force.

The company has recently signed a new contract with a large firm that will require 100 additional call center operators. This effectively doubles the current staff, who are assigned to established clients.

Galaxy will be providing 24/7 customer support.

The services contract commences in 120 days, at which time you must be fully staffed.

Call center operator training takes approximately three weeks.

Your job as the director of operations is to create a staffing plan that focuses on the particulars of rapid placement. The duration of the project is 120 days. It commences immediately and ends when the last employee starts his or her assignment.

Deliverable

Create a plan to address the staffing needs for serving the new customer. At minimum, include the following:

Develop a hiring plan. Consider the following items and any others that you believe are relevant:

Human resource needs (numbers needed as well as the skills, knowledge, and abilities required for positions).

Attracting or sourcing talent.

Applicant evaluation process.

Vetting.

Compensation.

Develop an onboarding plan for new employees.

Discuss areas that are anticipated to be the greatest challenge to the plan and how you would address those challenges.

Develop a project schedule. Use Microsoft Project or similar scheduling program to create the schedule. Include:

Tasks—the level of detail should be down to the third level. For example: hiring to onboarding to training.

Milestones, delivery dates, and durations.

A list of required resources for deliverables where appropriate. Resources can include documentation or human resources needed to complete the project.

The critical path. In other words, identify parts of the project may be more time consuming and possibly place the project at risk.

Provide a 1–2 page narrative to accompany your schedule that describes and justifies your projections.

Additional Requirements

Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.

APA formatting: Use current APA style and formatting guidelines.

Length: 8–10 pages, plus the project schedule.

References: Include at least five citations from professional sources.

Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Assessment 2

Preparation

Read the following scenario. It should be used as a basis for this assessment.

Search the Internet and the Capella Library for current (within three years) professional or trade magazines and reputable business publications for information on the global call center resourcing market.

Scenario

A recent shift in the local labor market has increased the competition for attracting and retaining talent. This shift is expected to significantly increase operating costs for Galaxy over the next 6–12 months and beyond. This is considered to be a permanent shift in supply.

The company leadership has decided to explore the option of outsourcing some of its operations to an overseas location. The hope is that this move will allow the company to maintain service quality at current levels at a decreased cost. Initial research has narrowed the list of possible host locations to India and the Philippines.

Your CEO has asked you to evaluate the two options. You will need to devise the measuring criteria, gather pertinent information, and make a recommendation. Ultimately, the plan is to outsource to a subcontractor in one of these countries. Your evaluation should consider all reasonable aspects (such as compensation, regulations, training, travel, accents, specialization, security, vendor costs, time required to set up operations, et cetera) of opening a complete, self-sustaining operation in each of these locations.

Deliverable

Complete a site selection evaluation based upon criteria of your choosing that considers current economic conditions. Do the following:

Create a site selection criteria matrix. Choose a minimum of 15 criteria against which each location will be measured. Assign each a weight so that the total for all is 100. Write a 2-page document justifying the criteria you have chosen.

Fill in the matrix using information and data that you have gathered during your research. Keep in mind that you are trying to make a decision based upon macro-level data. For instance, you should compare travel costs to each location relative to one another (one generally is 20% less than the other), but not calculate actual dollar cost of travel. Make sure to include citations where appropriate.

Make a 5–7 page site recommendation based upon the data and information that you have accrued. Include a complete analysis of your recommendation and an assessment of how regulatory requirements in each location (as well as those that govern U.S. companies doing business in those locations) might impact the choice of where to set up operations.

Include an executive summary.

Additional Requirements

Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.

APA formatting: Use current APA style and formatting guidelines.

References: Include at least five citations from professional sources.

Length: 8–10 pages.

Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Assessment 3

ssessment Instructions

Preparation

Read the following scenario. It will be used as a basis for this assessment.

Search the Internet and the Capella Library for current (within three years) professional or trade magazines and reputable business publications for information on global call center operations.

Scenario

Galaxy Center Solutions’ executive committee has considered your recommendation for relocation, as well as many other factors, and has made the decision to contract with a call center based in Bangalore, India. It will be a one-stop solution for all of Galaxy’s needs to accommodate the new client that requires 100 operators on a 24/7 basis.

Your job is twofold:

Present an evaluation plan for vendor selection to the executive committee.

Create a plan for initiating operations for this project with a vendor that will be chosen later.

Deliverable

Complete each of the following:

Develop an evaluation plan for vendor selection. Use PowerPoint to create an 8–10 slide presentation of the plan. Be sure to use the speaker notes area for describing complex topics or concepts.

Create a plan for initiating vendor operations. Minimally, it should Include:

A timeline of activities required to complete vendor preparation. It should start at contract completion and end with the commencement of call center activities.

Training requirements. This should include training of Galaxy personnel by the client on the specifics of their product as well as training of vendor staff by Galaxy personnel.

A communications plan. Include:

How and when the project status will be communicated to Galaxy stakeholders.

A description of communication channels and procedures that will be used among stakeholders when operations commence.

It is anticipated that eventually, most if not all of the call center operations will eventually be moved to India. Examine the moral or ethical obligations that the company might have to its domestic employees. Document any assumptions you make.

Additional Requirements

Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.

APA formatting: Use current APA style and formatting guidelines.

Length:

Slide presentation: 8–10 slides (include detailed speaker’s notes).

Operations plan and ethical plan examination: 4–6 pages.

Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Assessment 4

Scenario

Galaxy Center Solutions is preparing to negotiate a contract with a company called Global Call Centers (GCC) located in Bangalore. GCC’s principals are Indian.

Deliverable

Do the following:

Analyze the appropriateness of the following types of service agreements, and recommend one to use.

Memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Service level agreement or master contract for use with GCC.

GCC has sent you its boilerplate agreement that has been tailored to the specifics of this engagement. It differs significantly from the ones you have used with your clients, so you feel that there are items in it that need to be negotiated. Analyze strategies or steps that you would take in negotiating a change to your preferred service agreement.

Create a 2-page brief for your in-house legal advisor describing five elements of a service agreement that are operationally important to Galaxy. State why you believe they are important.

Discuss how you would you prepare to negotiate a contract with an Indian company. What cultural aspects might you need to consider? Explain.

Outline how preparations or considerations for executing an international contract differ from executing a domestic contract.

You have discovered during your contract negotiations that for the purposes of this engagement, GCC workers will have to work 12 hours per day. Galaxy has a mandate that says domestic employees work only eight hours per day. Galaxy is committed in its culture to assure a work and life balance. Evaluate whether this presents a dilemma for Galaxy.

Additional Requirements

Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.

APA formatting: Use current APA style and formatting guidelines.

Length: 1–2 pages per item.

Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Assessment 5

Preparation

Review the following items found in the Resources:

Risk Management Plan Example.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)—Fifth Edition.

Scenario

The contract with Global Call Centers has been completed and approved. This is a big change in the company’s way of doing business, and it is happening too quickly for the comfort of some. You have been tasked with creating a risk management plan for staffing of this expansion. It should identify reasonable risks associated with the outsourcing as well as ways to mitigate them.

Deliverable

Draft the risk management plan for the engagement of Global Call Centers. Do the following:

Describe and justify the risk management methodology to be used. Also, consider the risk probability and impact identification methodologies.

Describe the roles and responsibilities for the risk management plan.

Describe areas of risk (risk categories). Include an analysis of regulatory requirement risks.

Outline and assess mitigation plans for three areas of risk.

Identify how risks will be tracked.

Additional Requirements

Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.

APA formatting: Use current APA style and formatting guidelines.

Length: 6–8 pages.

Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.