The Capstone Business / Leadership Case
During the first class the Professor posted the Team and Team Member assignments. The hand out is posted in this Assignment folder on Black Board for your reference. See the second attachment in this folder. In that write up he assigned each team a Company to study and identify changes to positively impact “the leadership” of the company under study. Each Team member working the subject company was assigned a specific business area to study. Each member will prepare a report on their business area, i.e. The Individual Capstone Report, and based on that information contribute a slide set, from such study, as part of a Final Team Presentation to the Board. The Board reviewing the results of your presentation will include the Chairman of the Board, i.e. Prof Snyder and the Overarching Board Members, i.e. the class members who are not members of the current presenting Team.

Capstone Business Team Formation
1. Meet with your assigned team members
2. Share your background with your team
3. Evaluate how you and your team members / business areas relate overall
4. Set up a team workable dynamic to engage all team members in an equitable exchange
5. Set up a team network and call sheet for ease of communications and coordination of effort
6. Set up a meeting time table, including the in class meetings, when you will work together to progress the case evaluation(s), developments, clarifications, studies and final assemblage of Individual Reports and Presentation Slide Sets. (Note you will find this useful in tracking progress over the weeks of class.)

Capstone Business Case and Presentation
1. As a Team, in each meeting review and discuss the company as a team, as a Company, and as the business areas each of you were assigned.
2. Review the company and your area to:
– Identify areas where leadership and change initiatives may be necessary to improve the organization, i.e. stabilize/grow or evolve each unit of the company to demonstrate definitive improvement.
– Develop a plan and document, in your Individual Capstone Report, your proposal describing how to implement those leadership and change initiatives and how to quantify the success of your initiative.
– For the change initiatives, do a “Gap Analysis”, i.e. compare the “As Is” position of operation to a “To Be “position, to show the measure of impact the changes you create when implemented, and
– Detail the plan on how to implement the (leadership/change) components necessary to achieve your overall Business Area goals.
– Identify change initiative by change initiative, leadership initiative by leadership initiative how your contribution is in alignment with your colleagues and how they combine for a successful (and dramatic) positive impact on the company
3. Prepare a Presentation to convince The Board, i.e. The Chairman of the Board [The Professor] and your Board Members [Classmates, not presenting at that time] to approve your case, to approve the funding of your initiative and to “WIN” the recommendation that you proceed.

4. The Capstone Case Individual Report

– Each Team Member will prepare an Individual Report documenting
• His/Her contribution to the capstone case, e.g. how s/he fit within the Team make up and their responsibilities. The parts of the study s/he developed, the research s/he did and answer the following questions:
1. What is the Company status quo and why is there a need for a change to the company or the leadership? Briefly explain.
2. What have you been assigned to provide in regard to item 1? Why is it important to the major premise of the Team’s overall initiative?
3. Are your conclusions supporting or hindering the main case? If neither, are they necessary to advance the teams position? Describe the outcomes of your work up in supporting the Teams overall case.
4. Identify how you will know if what you have provided was of benefit.
5. What company personnel need to be included in planning, implementing, and sustaining the change? Why?
6. Will resistance from the company¬-at-large inhibit the change? What additional activities will be required to deal successfully with such resistance?
7. Clarify how and why the resulting leadership/change initiative will be successful and sustainable.
8. In summary what activities are required to implement your plan?
9. How will you determine the changes you have proposed, have impacted, or that have taken place and are simply working as prescribed?
10. What questions have been raised through your planning processes for which there are no clear answers? Be thorough, be clear and be definitive.

Note:: The Individual Capstone Report and, the slides for the presentation of same, must be submitted to the Professor be for the end of the last class/day to receive a final grade.

4. The Presentation
– Each member presents for 5 minutes
– There will be 5 minutes at the end of the Team presentation for “Questions and Answers” to each Team
– Each member of the team MUST present
– Power Point may be used to support/present your Presentation
– Be creative, thorough and convincing using leadership and change principles
– A copy of the complete Presentation (all team members individual components combined) should be provided to the Professor PRIOR to your Team presenting
– A copy of the Board “Presentation Sign Up Form”, provided to you at the Class preceding the Presentation, MUST be completed and provided to the Professor prior to presenting. There is ONE form per Team.
– A copy of the Presentations Ranking Form will be passed out to each student before Final Presentations begin. Each team member MUST rank the presentations given by each of the OTHER Teams. Note you will NOT rank your own Team. This Form MUST be returned to the Professor to receive a grade.
– A copy of a Team Members’ Ranking Form will be passed out before Final Presentations begin. Each member MUST rank each of their own Team Members. Note, DO NOT rank yourself. This Form MUST be returned to the Professor to receive a grade.