Identify a problem or issue that is impacting performance in the organization.  The identified management problem you will investigate and for which you will provide recommended solutions is the on-boarding and off-boarding process for the Director of Staff entails many variants such as the initial security briefing, personnel intake, and coordination with several divisions.  It is imperative that these divisions connect with incoming personnel in order to completely close the loop on new members and gain all the needed information for in-processing.  A successful process entails obtaining and entering the required information to support the individual throughout their stay in the organization as well as ensure internal systems and procedures are followed to ensure quality control measures are met.  The problem within the Director of Staff office is the lack of authority and understanding of the position of directive leadership within the organization. The results are reactive rather than pro-active behaviors and cultivates a culture of high stress and poor quality relations among group members.  This paper identifies the lack of support from division leadership for on-boarding and off-boarding tasks that contributed to the breakdown of personnel systems, poor quality of work, and information that is inaccurate. 

Read the materials attached and the ‘Lesson One’ doc for sites to help guide you in identifying a management problem in your work environment. This paper will be one of seven discussing the client and the management problem you will explore.

Some questions you can explore to help you are:

    What are the goals of the company/division/work group?
    In considering the goals, where does progress halt?
    Is there data to substantiate this or is it a perception of the manager?
    Who is involvedthe manager, the employees, stakeholders?
    How long has this problem existed?
    What and how are expectations and requirements communicated?
    When expectations or key deadlines are missed, what happens?
    What factors contribute to the problem (politics, structure, decision-making factors)?j
    Are technical skills or training contributing to the problem?
    Are there ethical issues relating to the problem?
    If so, how have those issues been handled to date?

These questions do not all need to be answered nor is this list all inclusive; they are provided to help get started and inspire your own questions to explore while completing this paper.

As you think about this consider:

When relationships experience roadblocks of any sort we can say there is a problem in the relationship.  This is true for both personal and professional relationships.  When identifying and analyzing potential problems one would start first with symptoms of the problem.  This is sometimes a difficult process as it can be easy to confuse symptoms with the problem.  For instance, perhaps as a manager you are dealing with a lack of acceptable productivity with two of the ten people who work in your area of responsibility.  Maybe one of those people is cranky and difficult to work with. 

In this case the problem you need to solve as a manager is one of increasing productivity in your area to an acceptable level.  Managers respond to this issue in many different ways depending upon their skill, ability, knowledge and maturity.  Some managers may transfer some of the work from the two problem employees to some or all of the eight other employees.  This solution will, in turn, produce additional symptoms that now are visible in the behavior and productivity level of the other eight employees in addition to the original two employees.  You can see that this solution will only continue to affect productivity in a negative manner and never really solves the problem.  This is why, during the problem identification stage, one ought to be certain they are looking at the problem and rather than trying to reduce or eliminate symptoms.

NOTE:  Research is required and must have a minimum of two unique sources each week, neither of which can be Wikepedia.

Each paper builds upon the previous paper in order to complete a comprehensive project.

RUBRIC Standard:
Theories and Approaches
Writer differentiates and evaluates theories and approaches to complex problem within the major field and provides insight that clarifies the usefulness of approaches.

Sources
Evaluates and selects more than two resources using multiple criteria, including relevance, currency, authority and purpose.

Identification of Issues
Presents accurate and detailed descriptions of the problems and issues central to the case study; provides a well-focused diagnosis of strategic issues and key problems that demonstrate an excellent grasp of the present situation and strategic challenges; descriptions are compelling and insightful.
Context of and Purpose for Writing
Demonstrates a thorough understanding of context, business acumen, audience (executive team, consultant and stakeholders), and purpose that is responsive to the assignment and focuses all elements of the work.

Organization of Ideas/APA format
Effective organization and development contribute to an appropriate introduction, conclusion and smooth transitions. Writing includes cover page, and follows APA formatting of references and page set up

Mechanics and Grammar
The writing is free of spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and grammatical errors; evidence of proofreading.