Week 5 Final Project
Recommendation and Implementation
5/9/17
Analyze your previous submissions, and make changes as necessary to the final paper to be
prepared this week. Continue development of the project or research with an abstract and
proposed implementation strategy. This is the last and final section of the Key Assignment and
should bring together all aspects of the project or research in one cohesive paper. Revise
previous sections so that the entire document flows and has a strong introduction and conclusion.
For this assignment, you will add an abstract and proposed implementation to your research
paper. Finally, you will further refine the report and produce the Final Draft version. Updates
may be based on peer and instructor feedback.
The project deliverables are the following:
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Update the research document's title page with a new date and project name.
Update previously completed sections based on the instructor's feedback.
Management Research Analysis and Synthesis Document
o Review the entire document for any changes and improvements you would like to
make.
o Ensure that this final version of the document is sufficiently detailed to fully meet
the assignment requirements for each part of the course.
o Any previous instructor feedback should be addressed with appropriate changes.
New Content:
o Abstract and Proposed Implementation of the Solution
▪ Develop and incorporate an abstract into the final draft of the research
paper.
▪ Produce a final proposed plan for implementation of the solution.
Be sure to update your table of contents before submission.
Name the document "yourname_MGMT659_IP5.doc."
Learning Material for this Week
Implementation Plan
Implementation Plan
Consider the following questions when it comes to implementing a plan:
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How will you implement the plan?
What steps are necessary?
What is the planned sequence?
What timing is right?
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Who are the people needed?
Once the solution has been decided, the steps to implement are considered and captured on a
document in the form of an action plan that is constantly monitored and updated based on reality.
This can also be done using brainstorming techniques. The biggest part of this element of
building the case is communication and accountability. If no one is held accountable and
feedback and regular communications are not occurring, then the likelihood of failure is greatly
increased. What follows is a sample of the key elements of just such an action plan:
Key Elements of an Action Plan
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Problem: Describe the situation to be corrected and date of occurrence.
Root cause: Define the root cause of the problem and contributing factors.
Objective: Define the desired result for this action plan.
Action steps to be taken: By whom should they be taken? By when?
Barriers: What are the potential roadblocks that may be seen along the way, and how
can they be mitigated?
Results: What will the end result look like?
Verification: What records are required to demonstrate effectiveness?
Scheduled completion date: What is the date, and what are the consequences if this date
is not met?
Feedback
How will you monitor the situation to determine if the problem has been solved or if you have
maximized your opportunity?
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Build in a feedback mechanism, and hold people accountable to record the events as they
unfold.
When the plan is well-executed, capture what is most effective and share it. Remember to
review it, and take opportunities to make changes to the plan to make it more effective in
the future.
Make corrections along the way and report them.
Assemble the lessons learned in a comprehensive report.
Implementation Plan. (2013). Retrieved May 06, 2017, from
http://www.trademarkia.com/map/muse-my-unique-student-experience-77824469.htm
Making Decisions
Influences on Decision Making
What are the major criteria that influence a decision? Identify all of the factors that impact your
decision. Availability of resources is a major element, including money, time, people, equipment,
ease of implementation, and so forth. For instance, if you have a large-scale problem, such as the
oil spill in question, what kind of resources do you have at your disposal? If you come up with
wonderful solutions that have no resources available to make them viable, then you are wasting
time and energy, and perhaps, giving stakeholders a false sense of hope. To create more
resources, generate more communication of the need. For example, if the government is actively
involved and has a large stake and interest in the correct solution being applied, then perhaps an
appeal could be made to those decision makers. Even with some kind of criteria that might
currently pose a limitation, expand the scope of potential resources by making the case to the
right people. Without a discussion around criteria, those working on an issue will never realize
their limitations in time, and they will not be in a place to properly solve such a large-scale
problem.
Alternatives
Identify at least three different solutions to the challenge because it is always a good idea to have
contingency plans for every potential solution. Each alternative must be a realistic solution on its
own merit. Doing nothing can be considered an alternative. In the case of the 2010 oil spill in the
Gulf of Mexico, something had to be done. Brainstorming activities are very helpful at this
juncture, as well as some sort of prioritization to select the top three potential solutions. Evaluate
the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative against the evaluation criteria identified.
Solution
Which of the alternatives have you selected as the best solution? Why? Now that you have gone
through all these steps and reached the one solution that seems to make the most sense based on
all of the variables, review the steps that got you here, and do a reality check on the potential of
this solution to actually solve the problem at the core or its root. In the actual case of the oil spill
in the Gulf, many potential solutions were initially attempted, and they all failed to stop the leak.
This led to more concern on the part of the stakeholders and really created a public relations
problem for the leaders (and all other stakeholders) at the oil company. The likelihood of
solutions that truly solve the problem being found and applied properly increases significantly
with many minds working together to come up with original and unique ideas that can make the
difference.
Making Decisions. (2013). Retrieved May 06, 2017, from
https://www.allacronyms.com/M.U.S.E/My_Unique_Student_Experience
Implementation and Evaluation Feedback
To sustain any kind of development or change program, there first needs to be a willingness to
measure the activities and to provide feedback for improvement. Programs that are measured and
reviewed on a regular basis are in the forefront of people’s thinking. Ultimately, this can help
lead to institutionalization of the change in the organization.
The feedback cycle involves actively measuring the effects of the implementation of the change.
For example, if a leadership development program is implemented, it is important to determine
the measures that should be used to determine if leaders have become more effective.
Measurement could begin by conducting observations of behaviors of leaders in meetings and by
taking qualitative notes on those behaviors. Over time, pictorial diagrams or recorded
observations can be developed. These could be used to document behavior changes in those
leaders.
Another form of measurement is the 360-degree feedback tool, which uses quantitative measures
to evaluate the leader. In this form of evaluation, the leader receives feedback on what has been
improved and what still needs work.
Once results are received from these evaluations, it can be determined what adjustments are
necessary in the program. What types of reinforcement are in the environment to support the
changes being made? What needs to be altered in the program or in the environment?
Consider the example of a coaching program that has been implemented for the improvement of
leadership skills. Possible ways to evaluate this program are as follows:
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Evaluate the coaches and their methods.
Get feedback from the coaches on how they perceive the progress of the leaders.
The implementation and evaluation of change programs is a continuous loop in which feedback
and evaluation are used to improve the program. To complete the loop, the information obtained
from feedback is used for diagnosis and design of further interventions. This continuous loop of
feedback, evaluation, and improvement should be ongoing and the norm for OD organizations.
This is essential for long-term survival of any change program. Unfortunately, this cycle often is
not implemented, which is why many OD interventions fail to become institutionalized.
Implementation and Evaluation Feedback (2013). Retrieved May 06, 2017, from
https://www.allacronyms.com/M.U.S.E/My_Unique_Student_Experience
Implementation of the Creative Solution
The general, four-step creative process includes the following:
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Preparation of the creative approach
Incubation of the ideas
Discovery or illumination of the idea or solution, sometimes known the "aha" moment
Implementation of the idea or solution
Implementation
Eventually, the final idea or solution comes to fruition, and the final implementation phase
begins. It takes considerable work to get to the implementation phase. By the time the individual
or team reaches this phase, the selected idea or solution has been written down, and the decision
has been made to move forward.
Yet, implementation can be a challenge depending on the moods and attitudes of the individual
or the team.
At this stage, a team may be concerned about why the creative process was necessary to solve a
problem and may question why change is necessary. Also, implementing a new idea can be
risky.
Implementation includes doing what you said you would do. For example, if the goal is to create
a new logo, the new logo needs to be created and printed on all product packaging. But before an
idea or solution is implemented, it should be described and communicated to the participants
helping roll-out a new product, as well as the customers. For example, if the creative process
results in a solution to find a faster production method for producing red licorice candy,
employees need to be trained on how to do this.
The implementation phase includes the following:
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Creating an effective and detailed plan that describes the activities necessary to
implement the idea
Policies and procedures for the implementation
Necessary training sessions
Being committed and accountable to the implementation of the idea
Implementation of Creative Solution (2013). Retrieved May 06, 2017, from
https://www.allacronyms.com/M.U.S.E/My_Unique_Student_Experience
Developing Action Plans
Question 1: What elements must an organization consider in its plan to manage change?
Answer 1:
Whether large or small, organizations are constantly undertaking planned change events. A
planned change event could involve an overhaul of the computer system, changing the telephone
system, or refining billing procedures. Being dynamic (changing with the times) is becoming a
more popular and effective way of conducting business than being static (unchanging).
Change initiatives take a great deal of planning. Simply planning the logistics of the change
initiative is not enough to maximize the probability of success. It is also imperative to manage
social and political forces that could be resistant to change.
Question 2: In change management, what is the intervention implementation strategy?
Answer 2:
With this strategy, the sponsor of the planned change event shares the vision for the change with
key individuals in the organization so those key people will recognize the need for the change.
For example, a manager who believes that the telephone system is antiquated may make the case
to the top management team. An overhaul of the old system could be achieved by successfully
showing the top managers that the current system is inefficient and demonstrating that the new
system would solve the identified problems while remaining cost-efficient.
Question 3: What is the participation implementation strategy?
Answer 3:
This strategy is quite popular, and entails creating a planning group or task force that represents
all of the affected areas to solve a specific problem. In the example from Question 2, an
individual from each department would identify and resolve any issues that would be created by
installing a new telephone system. The participation strategy is valuable to create buy-in, and
also because actual consumers of the change may be better equipped to identify barriers to a
smooth transition.
Question 4: What are the types of participation implementation strategy?
Answer 4:
The following are the four types of a participation implementation strategy:
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Comprehensive participation: This involves a fully representative planning group that
possesses the authority to develop a fully detailed plan.
Complete participation: This includes a planning group that would identify steps and
stages of the planned change initiative, but they would not fully detail the change event.
Delegated participation: This includes a planning group that would suggest solutions,
but they would not have the authority to finalize decisions.
Token participation: This type of planning group is more for demonstration
purposes and is used as a manipulative attempt to gain cooperation rather than to truly
gain input from affected areas.
Question 5: What is the persuasion implementation strategy?
Answer 5:
This strategy involves selling or negotiating the change event. Using the telephone system
example, the sponsor of the planned change event might sell the good points of a new telephone
system to other affected department heads without analyzing change consequences, or fully
specifying the need for the overhaul.
Question 6: What is the edict implementation strategy?
Answer 6:
In this strategy, the sponsor uses power and authority to push through a change initiative. An
example of edict implementation for the telephone overhaul would be announcing to staff
members that their telephone system will be changing on a specific date, and posting a schedule
of training for the new system.
Different implementation strategies are appropriate for different change initiatives, and even for
different levels of a single initiative. For example, the intervention strategy may be appropriate
for use with the top management team; the participation strategy may be appropriate for
departments that are directly affected by the change; persuasion might be used with peripheral
areas where cooperation is necessary, but the change is not very likely to have overwhelming
effects; and the edict strategy might be used with lower-level staff. The important thing to
recognize is that there are political and social forces that must be managed in planned change
efforts, and failure to address these forces may
Developing Action Plan (2013). Retrieved May 06, 2017, from
https://www.allacronyms.com/M.U.S.E/My_Unique_Student_Experience
Calculating and Presenting Your Findings
Question 1: Why is it appropriate to use the randomized complete block design?
Answer 1: ANOVA tests concern at least one factor with more than two levels. ANOVA
requires observations with respect to each level. A completely randomized design means that
observations for each level are independently and randomly selected. For example, consider a
health care corporation that wants to understand how the accuracy of earnings per share
estimates for health care companies differs among different types of analysts (financial
institutions, large brokers, small brokers, and so on). A completely randomized design will select
a sample of earnings per share accuracy estimates from each type of analyst. Each analyst
population is independent of the others. If another factor may affect the results but is unknown,
the completely randomized design assumes that the second factor is randomized among the
samples for each level. Further, the design is considered balanced if each level has the same
number of observations.
Consider, however, if it is possible that there exists a set of factors that may influence the
samples or populations, a randomized complete block design is more appropriate. That is, when
an additional factor with two or more levels may affect the results, blocking is used to eliminate
its effect on the main factor of interest.
From the example above, if it is likely that each analyst may follow a certain set of company
stocks that may influence the accuracy of estimates, the sample observations are not
independent. For example, the financial institutions may primarily analyze the largest health care
companies, whereas a smaller brokerage house may focus its analysis on newer, less stable
companies. Higher quality, mature companies may tend to produce more accurate estimates. If
this is a possibility, a block design is warranted. Here, you would use the same set of company
stocks (the block) for each of the analyst types. Each combination of one of the health care
stocks and one of the types of analysts is a treatment. The additional source of variation caused
by blocking is measured as the dispersion of the mean block from the grand mean. Here,
estimation accuracy for a single stock across the types of analysts results in the block mean. By
controlling for the variation caused by another factor, variation related to the factor of interest
can be isolated (the between variation) and compared with the residual error (the within
variation).
Of course, you can test if blocking is necessary by computing the F-statistic associated with the
variation in the blocks compared with the variation within (the residual error). A significant Fstatistic would indicate the blocking was necessary.
Question 2: What is the difference between within-group variation and between-group
variation?
Answer 2: Within-group variation is the dispersion in a single population or sample defined by
one factor level. It is how each observation differs from the mean of the group defined by the
level. For our analyst example, within-group variation is the dispersion in the accuracy of
earnings per share estimates for one group, such as the financial institution analysts.
Between-group variation is the dispersion in the samples with different levels of the factor. For
our analyst example, between-group variation is the variation in the accuracy of earnings per
share estimates between the groups of analysts—that is, financial institution analysts versus
large-brokerage-house analysts versus small brokerage house analysts.
Mathematically, within-group variation is the sum of the squared differences between each
observation and the level/group mean (divided by degrees of freedom to get mean squared
within). Between-group variation is the sum of the squared differences between each level/group
mean from the grand mean (the mean for all observations regardless of the level), then divided
by degrees of freedom to get mean squared between. The F-statistic is the ratio of the betweengroup mean squared variation to the within-group mean squared variation. To the extent that the
between group variation is significantly greater than the within-group variation (the F-statistic is
significantly greater than one), the null hypothesis that the factor or level does not matter will be
rejected.
Question 3: How do I conduct a test of hypothesis among means?
Answer 3: First, like any test of hypothesis, you should first define the null and alternative
hypothesis. For a test among means, the alternative hypothesis is that the means do not equal
each other. You might develop two-tailed (the means do not equal), an upper one-tailed test (one
mean is greater than the other mean), or a lower one-tailed test (one mean is less than another
mean is). Next, determine the level of significance or confidence you are comfortable with
(decide on acceptable type I and type II errors).
If you have two populations, it is appropriate to calculate the t-statistic based upon the sample
means and standard deviations. A pooled estimated of the standard deviation could be used if the
population variances are assumed to be equal. Recall that the population variances can be tested
for equality with an F-distribution. If the population variances are not equal, the t-statistic is
computed using the separate sample variances.
If there are more than two populations, an F-test is more appropriate. The first order of business
after formulating the hypothesis is to understand the underlying factor. That is, what factor
distinguishes the set of populations? If only one factor exists, a simple one-way ANOVA is
appropriate to understand if variation in the populations is related to the factor. If so, the means
of the populations are not equivalent. If more than one factor might influence the populations, a
randomized complete block ANOVA may be more appropriate to test the null hypothesis of
equal means.
Question 4: When should I use analysis of variance?
Answer 4: One-way ANOVA is the most elementary of ANOVA designs used when there are
three or more independent populations. If another source of variation is apparent,
nonindependent paired samples may be more appropriate. Although the t-test can be used to test
differences between two means, conducting multiple t-tests when there are more than two means
can lead to inflation of the type I error rate. Consider the hypothesis that tests whether the
average life of computer boards differs between three manufacturers. Why not just do t-tests for
each pair of manufacturers? Multiple t-tests are not the answer because as the number of groups
grows, the number of needed pair comparisons grows quickly. Analysis becomes cognitively
difficult around seven different tests. For 7 groups, there are 21 pairs. An analysis of variance
organizes and directs the analysis, allowing easier interpretation of results.
Also, by doing a greater number of analyses, the probability of committing at least one type I
error somewhere in the analysis greatly increases. The probability of committing at least one
type I error in an analysis is called the experiment-wise error rate. The researcher may desire to
perform fewer hypothesis tests to reduce the experiment-wise error rate. The ANOVA procedure
performs this function. If you test 21 pairs, we should not be surprised to observe things that
happen only 5% of the time. Thus, in 21 pairings, a P = 0.05 for one pair cannot be considered
significant. ANOVA puts all the data into one number (F) and gives you one P for the null
hypothesis. Researchers should use ANOVA to test differences among several means for
significance without increasing the type I error rate.
Because ANOVA concerns variances, the F-distribution is used to understand how the variance
related to a factor is related to the total variance. The comparison between the actual variation of
the group and that expected variation expressed in terms of the F ratio. The number of degrees of
freedom for the numerator (actual variation of group) is one less than the number of groups; the
number of degrees of freedom for the denominator (so-called error or variation within groups or
expected variation) is the total number of observations minus the total number of groups. The F
ratio can be computed from the ratio of the mean sum of squared deviations of each group's
mean from the overall mean (weighted by the size of the group) ("mean square" for "between")
and the mean sum of the squared deviations of each item from that item's group mean ("mean
square" for "error"). Thus, if the null hypothesis is correct, you expect F to be about 1, whereas a
large F indicates a factor effect.
If the factor effects are found to be significant, it implies that the means differ more than would
be expected by chance alone. In terms of the above experiment, it would mean that the levels
were not equally effective. When the effects are significant, the means must then be examined to
determine the nature of the effects. There are procedures called post-hoc tests to assist the
researcher in this task, but often the analysis is fairly evident simply by looking at the size of the
various means.
My Unique Student Experience (2013). Retrieved May 06, 2017, from
https://www.allacronyms.com/M.U.S.E/My_Unique_Student_Experience
Running head: HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER AND STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT
*****MATERIAL USED IN PREVIOUS MANAGEMENT CAPSTONE
*******
Poor Leadership and High Employee Turnover
Management Capstone
Dr. Peter Garcia
Monday, May 08, 2017
Ronald Ramirez
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HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
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Table of Contents
Poor Leadership and High Employee Turnover ................................................................. 1
Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 4
The Culture of High Employee Turnover and Strategic Development .............................. 5
Problem Identification, Impacts, Design of Research, and Literature Research ................ 5
Identify the Problem ....................................................................................................... 5
Prepare a statement of the issue to be resolved............................................................... 5
Impacts if issues are not resolved ................................................................................... 6
Identifying the Consequences if the problem is not resolved. ........................................ 7
Research .......................................................................................................................... 8
Problem Impact and Findings from Research ................................................................... 11
Research Methodology ................................................................................................. 11
Inductive Reasoning...................................................................................................... 11
Qualitative Write-Up .................................................................................................... 12
Compare and Contrast 5 Articles Annotated Bibliography .............................................. 12
Identification of the problem measurement .................................................................. 19
Identify measurements of success to the problem ........................................................ 20
Data Collection and Research Analysis Methods ............................................................. 22
Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 22
Identification of the data needed ............................................................................... 22
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
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Identify how data will be collected before and after the solution states ....................... 23
Analysis of data......................................................................................................... 24
Research Analysis Methods .......................................................................................... 26
Discuss analysis of measurement results .................................................................. 26
Discuss findings of the measurable results ............................................................... 27
Discussion and Conclusion on Approach ......................................................................... 28
Conclusions from Results ............................................................................................. 28
Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 28
Recommendations for Further Research and Training ................................................. 30
How successful the solution will be in resolving the issue ........................................... 30
Compilation of Finding, Conclusions, and Recommendations (Week 5) ........................ 32
References ......................................................................................................................... 34
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
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Abstract
The high turnover of employees from the University admissions department has been a problem
that has continued for over the three years. The high turnover exists in other departments for the
University however the admissions department experiences the highest level and excessive
turnover. The root cause that underlying the problem is the lack of leadership from the top
executive leadership down to the middle managers and directors. The lack of vision and mission
and from stakeholders combined with the lack of training and accountability at all levels has
impacted the organization with low morale, poor culture, negative work environments, lower
customer and employee satisfaction, increased costs and lower strategic advantage. The poor
leadership also led to deviant behavior at all levels of leadership and down to the employees.
The recommended change to close the gap is to implement a change coalition to help align a
clear vision to increase employee retention and performance. The coalition will help monitor the
change with short achievable wins with measurable results via surveys and lowered employee
costs and increased profits and efficiencies. Closing the status quo with training and increasing
communication, and empowering the worker and middle management to make and implement
changes that align with the overall vision and mission of the stakeholders. The end result is a
more efficient and strategic advantage operations to better compete on a global level and a
superior product for students and instructors.
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
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The Culture of High Employee Turnover and Strategic Development
Problem Identification, Impacts, Design of Research, and Literature Research
Identify the Problem
The problem of high employee turnover is with the call center for a University that I have
worked for in the past. Historically research has shown voluntary employee turnover has been
related to job satisfaction and perceived job alternatives. The employee turnover has impacted
the level of service to the customers, morale, culture, team work, communications, and career
advancement. The turnover rate for a group of 400 advisors in one year was 250 employees.
Over half of the advisors left, quit, or were fired for any number of reasons. The numbers are
astonishing and this problem is drastically affecting performance at all levels of the company.
The issue to be addressed is the high turnover and the effects of culture on the employees
that contribute to the lack of performance and strategic advantage in the workplace. The true
issue to be addressed is the lack of quality leadership’s and their ability to adjust and respond to
the changing global economy which drastically affects the culture of a company. Leadership
with short term goals and lack of vision has little or no strategic advantage and are at risk of a
take-over by a competitor. This culture encourages career minded employees to flee and
compounds turnover within the company and ultimately decreases profits in the short and long
term. A quantitative example to prove the point is a University who showed a 25% profit margin
last year, yet the stock continues to go down.
Prepare a statement of the issue to be resolved
The root issue to be resolved is the lack of leadership within this for profit University.
This paper will not solve the lack of leadership issue. This paper will address the issue and title
of this paper: The Culture of High Employee Turnover and Strategic Development. When
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
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leadership and stakeholders make a visionary commitment to the culture of the workforce the
high employee turnover will stabilize and that is when strategic development of the company
will have a chance to grow and prosper.
To restate the issue to be resolved, is to say that when the leadership corrects the
corporate culture problems affecting high employee turnover the company will see employee
morale, productivity, communication, efficiencies, customer service increase and quantitatively
profit margins and strategic advantages will increase for the long term.
Impacts if issues are not resolved
Identifying some of the impacts of corporate culture and high employee turnover will be
to continue to see new and seasoned employees leave the company for other opportunities and
job alternative as previously stated. The lack of career opportunity will continue to attract less
than desirable employees. Career minded employees will look for more congruent companies
with a more desirable and positive culture. For example companies like Google, Zappos,
Southwest Airlines, Twitter, Nike, and Facebook to name a few who are using newer types of
positive cultures from Holacracy, Power, Task, Hierarchy, to Adhocracy cultures.
The impact of bad culture isn’t going to stay with the admissions and advisor roles within
the company. The impact will spread like a virus throughout the University, to all aspects of the
company including the teachers and students/customers which is one of the biggest reasons to
change the culture immediately. Other issues will include a lower standard of working
conditions and workplace pressure and stress.
According to the National Education Association, 50 percent of new teachers quit in the
first five years. Why? Because after grading papers, answering to assessment tests, developing
lesson plans, taking continuing education classes, and coordinating parent conferences, a
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
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"calling" just isn't enough to fuel the tank . A calling isn't a replacement for culture (Spiegelman,
2012). Having the bad culture getting into the customers, will eventually cause a riptide and
severely damage the ability for the University to grow and may cause bigger issues with
regulatory agencies .
Negative corporate culture will eventually lead to poor ethical behavior and a variety of
problems. One example of the obvious in this corporate setting was the lack of discussion. For
starters when an employee would get fired or leave there would almost never be any talk of why
or even mention the person was gone. Astonishing it was like the person never existed! This is
analogous of having a family member die and nobody says anything to anyone about it. It’s that
ridiculous! It is the cliché example of the elephant in the room that nobody dared talks about,
but everyone has to look around to talk and see each other. Team members dare not talk about it
in fear of retribution or consequences from leadership. The intimidation and bully factor was
intense.
Identifying the Consequences if the problem is not resolved.
Some of the consequences of not resolving the culture issue are already taking affect and
have been worsening over the past three years and the removal of commissions from the advisor
compensation. When the incentives were removed the lack of positive culture was exposed and
negative culture has been slowly increasing. The negative culture had degraded the quality of
work by employees and increasing the employee turnover rates. Consequently the enrollments
have fallen. The quality of services and employees has fallen. The employee satisfaction has
fallen while fear has increased. The ethics, leadership, values and vision of the company have
also fallen and are increasingly miss-aligned.
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
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Coincidentally one of the Presidents of the company, who has also turned over and is no
longer with the company came up with a strategic plan to move quickly to market with some of
the technology and marketing efforts (not typically seen in education sector) and profits for the
University have increased. Unfortunately the high turnover rate is not limited to the advisors.
The consequences of this virus have also plagued the leadership and faculty as previously
mentioned, by continually steering away savvy career minded individuals to seek employment in
other venues.
Interestingly the overall stock of the company continues to fall and remain in penny stock
value while the profits margins from the recent year were in the 25% range. When I say penny
stock I am referring to the value of a share below $10 and the stock having no equity value to
have a brokerage or finance company typically loan out money against the stock. Not a good
investment when offering employees stock options as incentives to stay with the company. This
is another consequence of bad culture and ultimately poor leadership.
One serious consequence with bad culture is the negative affects it has on employees
personally and emotionally. To some extent, corporations are beginning to realize that
employees' emotions affect their productivity (Ferro, 2016). A positive culture in a company
will help employee deal with difficult issues and can increase efforts and focus on work tasks
and overall life quality and emotional intelligence in workers. The lack of good culture and
emotional intelligence could lead to potentially risky environments if workers become distraught
and lash out uncontrollably either verbally or physically.
Research
Research on high employee turnover as related to culture and profits are how I intend to
conduct qualitative research using ProQuest to support the project solutions. I will use research
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
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and methods from existing sources to show that the potential locations or root of the problems in
culture is the lack of vision from stakeholders and leadership. The impact of the research will
clearly show how long term profits and customer satisfaction suffer. Also due to the lack of
succession and promotions to internally grow talent in a timely manner hurts the culture and
growth of the company and ultimately profits.
Focusing on the issues and impacts involving current trends in systematic analysis of
causes and potential solutions for employee turnover in organizations will prove viable options
to avoid the inevitable. Research between customer service quality and employee turnover will
also be included to show how culture is a necessity when planning corporate strategy and vision
to assure long term success with employee/customer satisfaction. Other research on the impacts
of leadership practices on employee turnover and influences of culture on employee turnover
will offer insight to the root cause of the dilemma.
Using Psychological research showing the increased stress and “workplace telepressure”
to perform and negative health consequences with negative cultures. Recent polls show 10% of
workers feel overwhelmed 100% of the time while at work. And almost half (48%) overall, feel
overwhelmed at work.
In conclusion, leadership with the ability to adjust, change and respond to employee
needs with a positive culture in the fast changing global economy will dramatically decrease
employee turnover, and increase the strategic advantage. Leadership must continue to focus on
the long term vision and culture of the company to remain strategically advantageous from the
competition. A positive culture will continue to feed itself and grow just as a negative culture
will fester and grow in a negative way. Which would you rather have? It is up to the
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
stakeholder s to purposefully direct leadership in a positive culture for continued measurable
results for the company.
10
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
11
Problem Impact and Findings from Research
Research Methodology
Qualitative research methodology used is the dominate method for this capstone paper;
however that being said, some of the articles use a quantitative methodology. Using the
quantitative articles will offer some numeric and statistical data to reinforce the need for change
in a numeric/money manner to better persuade stakeholders and leaders to implement change at
the highest level of the organization. The Bureau of Labor Statistics presents new employee
turnover rates yearly. These rates have revealed a constant increasing trend in employee
turnover. Employee turnover has been shown as an increasing expense to the organization
(Brown, 2011). Studies on this phenomenon show that leaders, who lack the abilities and skills,
will have a negative effect on short and long-term employee turnover and can even push highly
skilled and loyal employees out.
Characteristics of the qualitative research will be used by observing patterns in similar
call centers, retail, and other business settings. After observing the patterns of high employee
turnover and lack of leadership a tentative hypothesis will be given and develop general
conclusions and theories about the high employee turnover. This qualitative study of resources
and articles will be interpretive of employees in their natural settings and will involve multiple
sources of data and participants.
Inductive Reasoning
The inductive reasoning approach will be used in conjunction with the mixed method
study to collect data that is relevant to leadership and high employee turnover. Research will use
strategic, ethical and prior personal experiences within the organization to collect data from
observations, documents and studies. Analysis and interpretation will provide a deeper
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
12
understanding of the data and allow for better interpretation. Data analysis process is listed
below however in this capstone class, no data coding will be completed. The validity of the
resources will consist of cross analysis and focus research in leadership and employee turnover.
(Forsyth 2016)
Qualitative Write-Up
The discussions of the articles to follow will include detailed descriptions and themes to
align with strategies, analogies, and metaphors of how the findings relate to the theories
discussed in this paper. The problem identification is high employee turnover at a call Center
University is due to the lack of skilled and quality leadership at all levels of the organization.
We will compare and contrast 5 articles on the subject and develop a review and discuss the
finding and conclusions. Then we will identify how to measure the current state of the problem
issue. Finally by identifying the intended measurement of success for the problem issue will
offer needed steps to correct the issues.
Compare and Contrast 5 Articles Annotated Bibliography
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13
1. Duque, L. (2015). The relationship between leadership styles and employee turnover
intentions in higher education (Order No. 3716137). Available from ProQuest Dissertations
& Theses Global. (1709259503). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1709259503?accountid=26967
The dissertation was conducted at a community college in Hawaii with a multifactor
leadership questionnaire completed by employees to measure perceptions of leadership
behaviors. The turnover scale was measured by the employee’s intentions of leaving the
institution. The research showed a strong positive correlation was found between passive
management by exception of transactional leadership style and employee turnover intention. The
study results indicate that employees prefer leaders whose leadership styles are perceived as
transactional (Duque, 2015).
The study also suggested that poor relationships with leaders are important reasons
employees leave their jobs. In higher education, turnover involves high cost of training,
organizational productivity, human resources, and competencies. Leadership is an important
factor to job satisfaction, promotions and career minded individuals, and salary considerations to
motivate staff to continue with their jobs. Turnover also lowers the quality of education and
student achievement at the university level. My personal experience concurred with the results
of this study.
2. March,Richard P., I.,II. (2015). Toxic leadership and voluntary employee turnover: A
critical incident study (Order No. 3687400). Available from ProQuest Dissertations &
Theses Global. (1668380970). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1668380970?accountid=26967
The study supported evidence between toxic leadership and voluntary employee turnover.
The process that the participants navigated revealed organizational support systems from leaders
to human resources to senior organizational leaders colluded in protecting toxic leaders to the
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
14
demise of employees. The study found that a lot of scholarly literature has traditionally has
shown organizational leaders from a positive perspective, however the negative characteristics of
some leaders, and the consequences of these leaders’ actions, require overt analysis and
discussion because of the harm they inflict upon employees and organizations (March, 2015).
Overall conclusions of this study came with practical ways of neutralizing the impact of
toxic leaders to the organizations and employees. Some of the destructive leadership behaviors
listed in the study suggested that contextual, cultural, and environmental causes with
psychopathological personality traits empowered toxic destructive behaviors.
Psychopathological traits like Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy were three
overarching themes leaders exhibited. In common terms leader characteristics like the
following:
•
Self-Interest
•
Controlling
•
Exclusion
•
Arrogant
•
Corruption
•
Verbal Abuse
•
Bulling
•
Hypocrisy
•
Harassment
•
Incompetence
•
Egotism
•
Cruelty
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•
Manipulation
•
Power Hungry
•
Unethical behavior
•
Inflexibility
•
Stifling Criticism
•
Passive-aggressiveness
•
Irritability
•
Inability to develop and motivate subordinates
•
Playing favorites
•
Ineffective coordination
•
Unwillingness to listen
•
Incompetence
15
These are the essential characteristics oriented to toxic leadership from senior level down to
the Directors of admissions at the university that the study associated with the Machiavellianism,
Narcissism and Psychopathy traits. It was my experience when working within the university
call center that I experienced all and more of these toxic leader traits and characteristics.
The work discussed the consequences of the toxic leadership to have negative impacts on job
satisfaction, performance, health and well-being of the employees and culture. Interestingly
enough was the toxic leadership lead to deviant behavior on organizations, high absenteeism,
theft, unproductiveness, unethical practices and high employee turnover. When working for the
university these deviant behaviors were observed at all levels of leadership and employees and
unethical behaviors were encouraged for favored employees. When unethical or nepotistic
behaviors were mentioned to leaders I was faced with opposition and retaliation.
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
16
3. Ballard, J. K. (2012). Call center turnover: A study of the relationships between leadership
style, burnout, engagement and intention to quit (Order No. 3549435). Available from
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1283387142). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1283387142?accountid=26967
Ballard points out that call center turnover rates range from 30% to 500%. Many factors
contributed to the turnover, and employers are losing billions of dollars in the process. An
interesting point is that research showed that increased burnout/stress/disengagement, along with
psychological issues cause turnover in this “emotional labor”. The study noted supervisors have
direct influence and the dissertation used a Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire to study and
explored the relationship with intention to quit and leadership influence. This study showed
leadership engagement styles are excellent predictors of turnover and executives can use results
to address attrition and performance issues.
Findings in this article showed correlation between results that demonstrated moderate to
high correlations to intent to quit. For example variables of Burnout (r = .666) and Laissez Faire
Leadership (r = .563), and negatively correlated with the desirable variables of
Transformational leadership (r = -.530) and Engagement (r = -.680) (Ballard,2012).
Interestingly the results aligned with expected outcomes and showed that when the intent to quit
increased laissez faire and burnout also increased when intentions to quit were decreased while
transformational leadership and engagement increased. The study also showed that there was a
high (61 out of 93) amount of laissez faire leaders and with a substantially low number or
transformational leaders (27 out of 93). Over all the research supported transformational
leadership and engagement to lower turnover and increase job satisfaction and organizational
effectiveness. My experience in the university call center also gave me a sense of increased job
satisfaction when leaders engaged more, however minimally affected organizational
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
17
effectiveness due to the outdated and highly matrixed silo structure of the company, limiting
cross departmental collaboration and effectiveness immensely. The cross departmental
collaboration was further inhibited by toxic leadership and diminished the effectiveness of the
leader engagement because nothing could be accomplished to improve effectiveness and
efficiencies to promote a decentralized and empowered team.
4. Brown, L. A. (2011). The relationship between employee turnover and leadership: A
mixed-methodology investigation (Order No. 3473127). Available from ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Global. (894428611). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/894428611?accountid=26967
This mixed-methodology investigation of the statistical and emotional sides of leadership
with motivation and research methods uses a large portion of this dissertation uses the works of
James Kouze and Barry Posner. Kouze and Posner examined “The Five Practices of Exemplary
Leadership” first started with surveys back in 1983. Over the years they identified the five
concepts.
1. Model the way
2. Inspire a Shared Vision
3. Challenge the process
4. Enable Others to Act
5. Encourage the Heart
With over 30 years’ experience they bring a wealth of knowledge to the table and the
relationship between leadership and turnover studied in this dissertation. The study concluded
that leaders who lacked skills and characteristics identified in the five concepts of exemplary
leadership have a negative effect on long-term employment and contributed to high turnover.
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
18
The study gives insight and a background to motivation using Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs, Peter Drucker, Warren Bennis, and Kouzes & Posner research. One of the most
interesting points that hit home with my experience at the University was Warren Bennis
response to what leaders need to do to retain employees. Bennis replied that employees are
happiest when they deploy their full talents! Another poignant research by Katie Dearborn
contributed was that of emotional intelligence approach to leadership. She wrote of the
importance of leadership training to develop visionary and effective leaders who motivate,
engage, and ultimately retain employees. Dearborn and Daniel Goleman merged the four
emotional intelligence characteristics.
1. Self-awareness
2. Self-management
3. Social awareness
4. Relationship management
The ideas of combining benchmarking with emotional intelligence are suggested to have
a greater impact in the on effectiveness of the leaders. Another disturbing and destructive
statement by Larry Levinson is the loyalty by employee’s decreases with increasing turnover
rates. My experience as an admissions advisor with leadership was dramatically stifled by the
lack of leadership. The lack of “The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership” combined with
the ignorance about emotional intelligence characteristic’s from senior and lower level
leadership was astounding. The lack of training and accountability of leaders by stakeholders
was evident and extremely demotivating. The role of the psychopathological traits of
Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy played a big role in the lack of effective
leadership. The inability to change and adapt the corporate structure compounded the problem.
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
19
5. Nicholson, W. M. (2009). Leadership practices, organizational commitment, and turnover
intentions: A correlational study in a call center] (Order No. 3350859). Available from
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (305121142). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/305121142?accountid=26967
Nicholson’s leadership correlation study also leveraged the Kouses and Posner research
and Meyer and Allen’s three-component commitment model with the Michigan Organizational
Assessment Questionnaire. The study explored the employee’s perceptions of his or her
supervisor, the relationship between specific demographic variables, and the employee’s
intension to overturn. The current study expands leadership, organizational commitment, and
turnover intention research by confirming the positive relationship between an employee’s
perception of supervisors’ use of leadership practices and front-line employees’ affective and
normative commitment and to a lesser extent continuance commitment (Nicholson, 2009).
Demographic variables showed organizational commitment and relationships are
important factors associated to the perceptions of the employees. The organizational
commitment in my experience was good intension however the execution on the leadership level
was less than desirable and demotivating. The perception of the organizational commitment was
even worse, and negligible. Perception is reality and in my experience the lack of leadership and
vision significantly contributed to the high employee turnover.
Identification of the problem measurement
Because the problem issue was stated was the lack of leadership contributing to high
employee turnover and it contributed to the lack of performance and strategic advantage for the
company. This is attributed to the lack of leadership and vision from stakeholders and leaders.
The lack of growth and career opportunities within the organization also contributed to the high
employee turnover. I also believe that the lack of change in the corporate structure and
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
20
organizational commitment contributes to the poor leadership. In my experiences the
Organizational Development positions were also a high turnover position cementing the
perception that senior leadership didn’t value the role.
A numeric identification of the problem is simply the amount of turnover in a given year.
As previously mentioned in Unit one of this course, the turnover rate in 2015 was 250 advisors
of a 400 member advisor staffing. Another measurement technique would be to count the
amount of leadership trainings, coaching, accountability and score cards instances to improve the
leadership. I would also expect to see an overhaul of the corporate structure and internal
promotion guidelines with stakeholder’s commitment to the vision, leadership, and culture of the
company to increase the decentralization of power and empower workers and departmental
communication.
Identify measurements of success to the problem
Measurements of success would be implementation of a consistent reduction in employee
turnover. Consistent leadership training and employee training to better understand the need and
vision of the company. Training would include but not limited to the decentralization of power
in the admissions teams to encourage cross collateralization between departments and encourage
employee engagement. Rewards like bi-annual promotion cycle and jumping of internal
employees to higher positions when continuing education is completed and improved incentive
for existing employees to continue and higher education. The current trend is a decrease in these
benefits and rewards to despite record profits for the university.
Corporate structure would need to be changed to show progress getting away from the
highly matrix silo structure to support the decentralization of power and encourage high
performance teams with an incentive program that is compliant with industry law and standards.
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
21
Without these measurable changes the vision and growth of the university will be short lived. In
conclusion the destructive nature of the current unethical, deviant behaviors and nepotism by
toxic leadership must be opening punished or fired to prove stakeholders are on board and have
skin in the game and leading by example.
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
22
Data Collection and Research Analysis Methods
Data Collection
Identification of the data needed
Identifying the data will first need to be in the vision of the company. The company must
be on the same page when it comes to the vision and mission of the company. The vision
statement must include standards of ethical, behavioral, and leadership expectations. That being
said, the data will need to be in the form of performance metrics like enrollments, new hires vs.
turnover, length of on boarding to permanent status, team and department financial statements
(cost and expenses), satisfaction surveys from employees/customers, trainings, milestones.
The data from enrollments and advisor data will include typical metrics associated with
the scorecard used for rating performance like starts, script adherence, compliance adherence,
and CEC standards. New hire data will include the number of new hires, training and mentoring
schedule, turnover rates and times when they were terminated/quit, expense to the company,
length to complete temporary status to permanent status, and post-employment survey from fired
employees. Other data needed about the teams and departments in admissions to include
financial statements that will list cost per employee, production, and scheduling breakdown and
cost analysis. Included in the data will be leadership responsibilities and expenses. Other survey
information about leadership, employee, fired or ex-employee will be needed, including enrolled
students. A (SWOT) analysis will need to be performed by the coalition to determine the
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats from the data collected to best determine areas
of strategic advantage (strengths) and areas of risk (opportunities/threats). Keeping
implementation simple by using Kurt Lewin’s 3 step model of change to Unfreeze-Change-
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
23
Refreeze for short term wins. The coalition will need to prioritize these short term wins by
deducing the highest areas of risk to stakeholders, leaders, employees, and customers.
Kurt Lewin
Other data will include a breakdown of yearly and ongoing trainings for new hires,
existing employees, and leadership will be needed and costs associated with those. Corporate
milestones and visions data will be needed to accurately state the purpose of the teams and
leadership. This data will need to support the ongoing career secession plan for advisors and
promotion cycles to build new leaders.
Identify how data will be collected before and after the solution states
Data will be collected from various departments depending on what data is needed. For
example the data for the typical metrics associated with the scorecard used for advisors will be
collected by the Directors of Admissions (DOA’s). The new hire data will be collected by
Human Resources department. The surveys will be conducted by a third party, independent firm
and offer complete confidentiality. Confidentiality will be very important and complete
disclosure from the university and corporation will be needed and reinforced. Transparency will
be needed to assure employees of no backlash, recourse or retribution. The coalition will also be
held to non-disclosure contracts, non-compete contracts and anonymity with the survey
information. The third party will also need to access if there are any laws being broken and will
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
24
be held to the same disclosure contracts, non-compete contracts with exception when violations
occur and legal issues come up. There will also need to be a process established for handling
these types of legal situations.
The financial data will be obtained from the accounting and finance departments to
include cost per employee, trainee, production and cost per student. The scheduling and cost
information will be collected from payroll. Breakdowns of yearly trainings, new hires,
employees and leadership will need to be collected from payroll including promotion cycles and
annual costs of living increases.
After the solution data should be fed in an organized fashion to the coalition to increase
efficiencies in data collection. Numeric information can be sent from the financial, accounting,
payroll, and human resource departments electronically and collected in a cloud data base set up
by the IT department in a secure manor. Survey information can also be set up in a secure,
confidential manor to allow coalition members to access it virtually and allow them to operate
more efficiently. The goal is to make the coalition data collection virtual and automatically fed
in real time for the best analysis and monitoring. For example if we have a bad hiring or training
round, the coalition wants to know about it immediately to try and correct the problem. There
will be automatic triggers set up in the system to provide an early warning system to try and
avoid major problems and a coalition dashboard to monitor trends.
Analysis of data
First a (SWOT) analysis will need to be conducted on the coalition. The SWOT will help
deduce key areas of its member abilities and areas that the guiding coalition needs to be aware of
when they are analyzing the data. Once the data is analyzed it will need to be prioritized by the
coalition or a third party administrator to use the SWOT to help with those decisions. The
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
25
analysis of the advisors and DOA’s scorecards will look for inefficiencies and areas to reduce
costs. Typically management has seen this as a reason to limit overtime. Critical thinking needs
to be applied to flexible scheduling and more efficient use of peak times of enrollment. Focusing
on improving advisor efficiencies during those times setting up systems to help DOA’s support
advisors during peak times. The processes that advisors go through to enroll a student must be
addressed and analyzed. For example a completely electronic (paperless) signing of documents
for advisors and directors needs to be seriously considered to reduce the application start to
finish time, with potentially real time enrollment and stitch-in process to limit (MIA) Missing In
Action students. MIA students waste advisors time and university money and detract advisors
form more important, higher priority duties like interviewing and enrolling prospective students
(PS).
New hire date analysis from the HR department will include hire and training time frames
to permanent status to encourage DOA’s and leadership to lead by example and mentor new
employees to increased productivity. Analysis should also include team size and focus on
improving the employee to student ratio. With the current state of high turnover it stands to
argue that advisors can operate with lower employees but a more efficient process. With proper
analysis the coalition could potentially conclude that and show that increasing the salaries of the
productive employees would actually lower costs opposed to the money wasted on high turnover.
The end result would be improved employee and customer satisfaction, higher profits, better
culture and incentives for employees to work together to achieve enrollments.
Analysis must be done with complete transparency and complete confidentiality. This
has been an issue in the past when management was able to search and find out what employee
said what on an employee satisfaction survey. This showed a complete lack of leadership and
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
26
integrity. The university followed up with an anonymous survey but the talk among the advisors
is that the lack of trust already established had sabotaged any effort to actually see improvement.
To this day the majority of advisors are afraid to speak their mind and afraid of retaliation which
is very common. Therefore the university will need to go above and beyond to show anonymity
and confidentiality. Employee relations data will also need to be analyzed to help guide the
coalition in what actions and priorities will need to be addressed. Information about the
independent third party will have to be made readily available and encourage employees to
contact the third party to offer support and confidence in the confidentiality of ALL surveys to
rebuild trust.
Research Analysis Methods
Discuss analysis of measurement results
Analysis of measurement results will mostly fall on the guiding coalition. The coalition
will need to compare the survey results from leaders/employees/turnover/customers to deduce
problem areas and then prioritize them for actionable activities. They will need to focus on short
term goal/wins that will align with the long term vision of the stakeholders.
Financial analysis from the finance, accounting, and payroll departments will need to be
reviewed with a SWOT analysis. Areas of strengths and opportunities/threats will need to be
discussed to optimize the numbers to find ways to truly incentivize employees. Because of the
commission taken out of the advisors and DOA’s positions there is no real motivation, other than
fear of losing one’s job, to motivate employees. The lack of incentives juxtaposition creates a
big problem for morale, trust, motivation, productivity and culture for the university. The
advisor position has been watered down and compounded by the lack of leadership, has
increased employee turnover and the numbers need to be analyzed to find a way to increase
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
27
monetary incentives for advisors to the level they once were when turnover was at its lowest, and
coincidently the pay was at its highest.
Discuss findings of the measurable results
Focusing on moving top priority objectives forward will help create positive trends and
momentum that will increase morale and overall culture at the university. The customer/student
experience will also increase and learning will benefit from the changes. Communication
between stakeholders, leadership, advisors and students will be increased and financial
objectives will be met.
Leadership will empower employees to better serve the people they assist and it will be
validated by the qualitative feedback from surveys and measurable quantitative financial results.
Retention of employees will improve and employee/student satisfaction will show measurable
results of improvement. Human resource department work load will be reduced from the lack of
employee turnover and allow them to work more efficiently and diligently on secession
principles. Conclusively stakeholders will increase value with the continuing organizational
development by the guiding coalition to effectively analyze data in an ongoing manor and
increase communication, efficiencies and ultimately global strategic advantage over the
competition.
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28
Discussion and Conclusion on Approach
Conclusions from Results
High turnover rate of employees can be attributed to the lack of leadership in numerous
research studies. The lack of quality leadership in any organization would logically lead
someone to believe that employees would leave nor be motivated to continue to work for the
company. Research showed the lack of leadership was the biggest influential factor driving high
employee turnover. Some researched concluded that it was the employee impressions or
perceptions about leadership that guided their decision to leave. It didn’t matter if their
impressions of the leadership were true or not. Employees would leave on their perceptions of
leadership. The same study also concluded that the leadership’s impression or perceptions of
their leadership style wasn’t always accurate to their actual leadership style. The gap between
perception and reality on both the employee and leadership proved to be larger than expected.
The discussion and conclusion on the approach to the subject is important in this scenario
because it involves the reality of the quality of leadership and the perceptions of the leaders and
the employees. The approach leadership must consider to resolving the high turnover is
extremely important to achieve desirable results. Leadership must make it abundantly clear the
vision and mission of the company. Leadership must tie in and personify the vision and mission
of the company with actions personally and corporately by training, implementing, and
reinforcing the objectives with the employees and leadership itself. When the perception of bad
leadership is rampant in a company it will be harder for leadership to close the gap with existing
and new hire employees.
Recommendations
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
29
The first step in recovery is for the leadership to acknowledge the problem. The
leadership in this organization doesn’t recognize there is a problem yet. If they did realize there
was a problem nothing was being done to change it. This is why the data collection via
confidential surveys will be so important from employees, leaders and customers. Action
research will improve how the company operates and the students learn. This type of continuous
learning and continuous adapting organization will create a strategic advantage. The four-step
process that Margaret Riel recommends that is adapted from Understanding Action Research is
and excellent model that will help the company study and plan, take action, collect and analyze
evidence, and reflect for a repeatable progressive problem-solving model.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is the bias or illusion of mistakenly assessing ones ability
better than it actually is. Metacognition means thinking about thinking, someone’s perception of
himself or herself is attributed to correctly realize their ineffectiveness to measure their
performance and incompetently inflate self-assessments. This Dunning-Kruger effect was
prevalent in the University setting at all levels of leadership and employees. At all levels there
will be unknown unknowns. Typically the higher educated individuals are better equipped to
recognize their inability to know all things and predict the future. Socrates said, “The only true
wisdom is to know that you know nothing.” This would explain the good leadership on the
academic side of the University and the lack of leadership on the business side that was exhibited
in the situation.
Often less educated employees and leaders suffered dramatically from this however
executive leadership also proved to know what they were doing but acting unethically and with
deviant behavior despite this illusory superiority complex and lack of conscience. A great
example and tragic example would be the recent lack of leadership with the financial operations
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
30
of the company in the latest article showing both the CEO and the CFO recently resigned. The
former CEO was replaced by Todd Nelson who came from both Apollo Education and Education
Management Corp. However, Mr. Nelson has a track record, which is littered with regulatory
problems, which resulted in over $100 million in past fines and penalties (Pearson, 2016).
Recommendations for Further Research and Training
Using confidential surveys will need to be the norm and proper way to determine the
effectiveness of leaders, employees, and customers. It will be the truly non-biased way to
accurately deduce what the outcomes or perceptions of the outcomes for the business. It would
be interesting to know were the gap in leadership started and how the shareholders and executive
leadership lost control. The gap with ethical leadership has been widening and it appears to
spread in all aspects of the business. Ongoing training at all levels of leadership and employees
will be the key and need to be monitored by the guiding coalition. It is one of the best ways to
see that all parts of leadership will be held accountable. Incorporating all levels of employees
and leadership and having a fair and just system that will motivate and move things in a positive
direction and begin to rebuild trust.
How successful the solution will be in resolving the issue
Lack of leadership and the current financial situation might cause potential leaders to try
and step up to try and change leadership, to enact the needed changes. To make changes the
current leadership would have to realize there is a problem and stakeholders would have to want
to make a consorted effort for change management. Without stakeholders support the likelihood
of a change succeeding would unlikely. With the combination of systematic research, training,
and surveys to properly measure results and perceptions will lead to business results and notable
increases in profits and decreased expenses. In light of the latest article shareholders will most
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
31
likely be demanding sweeping changes. It will give the current leadership an opportunity to step
up and make a difference and do the right thing. Unfortunately it may be too late for the current
organization to make changes and potentially there could be a forced buyout from a company
with deep pockets to handle and manage the money correctly for CEC. The $700MM needed to
fund the financial aid of students attending the school isn’t inconceivable and could be the right
investment for the proper company. It could turn out to be a “schooling” of a M&A buyout on
how to buy a good product for penny’s on the dollar, that was poorly managed, and turn it
around and make some huge profits on the back end. The unfortunate tragedy is all of the
quality employees that have already left and will be forced to leave by the circumstances the
company is in. Employees that could have been future leaders and employees like myself who
are trying to wait it out for an opportunity to act and move on leadership opportunities.
Hopefully the current leadership will produce an action timeline and set milestone to turn the
proverbial boat around. Time will tell and we don’t know what we don’t know.
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
32
Compilation of Finding, Conclusions, and Recommendations
The solution must start at the top stakeholders and will need to be led by executive
management. A systematic research and review of the current model and situations must be
acknowledged and deemed necessary. Perception is reality and how leaders are perceived will
play a big role in the success of the change plan. The surveys will help with the perception of
leaders and roles. The stakeholders need to create a magnetic connectivity with leadership and
employees and ultimately this will translate to the faculty and students. This type of magnetic
connectivity is often seen in financial services. Often clients will follow advisors to different
firms when they change companies have magnetic connectivity because they like and trust the
people they are working with and will follow them. Magnetic connectivity happens in
admissions employees when moving from university to university now. The trick is to create a
magnetic culture within the organization from the top down.
When the size, scope and transnational nature of a modern organization are unique and
growing, positive change will happen. Leadership and stakeholders must also want to have a
learning organization and be willing to change. This type of positive change will be imperative
for delivering sustainable change in the organization.
In conclusion the root cause that underlying the problem is the lack of leadership from
the top executive leadership down to the middle managers and directors. The lack of vision and
mission and from stakeholders combined with the lack of training and accountability at all levels
has impacted the organization with low morale, poor culture, negative work environments, lower
customer and employee satisfaction, increased costs and lower strategic advantage.
Recommendations for implementation change to close the gap are to implement a change
coalition to help align a clear vision to increase employee retention and performance. The
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
33
coalition will help monitor the change with short achievable wins with measurable results via
surveys and lowered employee costs and increased profits and efficiencies. Closing the status
quo with training and increasing communication, and empowering the worker and middle
management to make and implement changes that align with the overall vision and mission of
the stakeholders. The end result is a more efficient and strategic advantage operations to better
compete on a global level and a superior product for students and instructors.
Implementing the recommended change will create a magnetic combination within the
organization and employees will rise to the occasion and use their strengths in ways that were not
utilized before. This type of change when it is led from the top will increase the strategic
advantage geometrically within the organization. The proposed implementation will need to
start with the shareholders they will need to use the current leadership to engage and led the
change. Otherwise new leadership will need to come in and make the needed changes. Often
changes don’t happen until drastic measures are needed. Typically it will take a financial low to
pressure stubborn stakeholders and leaders to make a change. The negative stock
implementations previously mentioned should be the perfect catalyst for the change however it
more than likely takes several years if not decades for the company and university to recover.
In conclusion the unfortunate consequence in poor leadership ultimately affects
follower’s lives negatively. This is why every employee must embrace theirs strengths and their
own leadership qualities to move their career and future forward. The definition of a leader by
John C. Maxwell is that “Good leadership isn’t about advancing yourself. It’s about advancing
your team” This is leadership 101 and must be exemplified by stakeholders and implemented
by executive leadership all the way down to the last employee for a successful mission and
vision.
HIGH EMPLOYEE TURNOVER
34
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