Background: Your Group has been assigned to be part of the Succession Plan Committee at Life Science Nutraceuticals (LSN). This Committee has been hard at work for months, planning the successor for President and CEO Alexandria Marvel and the rest of the executive team (largely occupied by the immediate family.) They have assigned your group to complete the Succession Plan for five key leadership positions. These positions will need to be filled over the next 12-24 months. There is not an immediate need for any of them currently, but vacancies will be imminent. The preference is to fill these internally, but President – CEO Marvel has stressed that if the right leader for a position does not exist already within the company, she would rather search for someone externally than settle for less than the most qualified individual. 

Your Group has already analyzed these five leadership positions and presented a report to President and CEO Marvel about them. Now it is time to identify any internal candidates that may be suitable for these positions. 

The Committee has already interviewed five different internal candidates that have expressed an interest in furthering their careers at LSN. All have leadership positions currently at different levels and within different departments of LSN. All have agreed to accept any leadership position assigned to them, and all are open to relocating. 

Instructions:

Step 1: Course Material

For this project, you are required to use the case scenario facts and the course material. External sources are not permitted. You are not researching on the Internet or using resources from outside the course. You are expected to answer the requirements identified below, showing the connection between the case scenario facts and the course material. Using course material requires going beyond defining terms. Students are expected to apply the terms in the applicable case-scenario situations. Avoid making unsupported statements. Make observations that explain how something happens or why something happens and that focus on importance and impact. In closing the loop, you will demonstrate the ability to think clearly and critically, demonstrating an understanding of the logical connections among the ideas presented in a case scenario, the course material, and the question(s) being asked. A significant in-text citation is expected throughout this assignment. Using one or two in-text citations from the course materials will not earn many points on this assignment. The in-text citation of a variety of course materials is expected to support your analysis. The in-text citation support must be relevant and applicable to the topic being discussed. Points are not earned for mentioning a term or concept but for clearly and thoroughly explaining or discussing the issue being addressed. 

Step 2:  Review the Leadership Competencies Table 

Review the Leadership Competencies Table completed in Week Two to accompany the Job Announcement. (You may also wish to review any feedback received by your Instructor about your Table.)

Step 3:  Review Upcoming Positions 

Review the five different upcoming positions your group has been tasked with filling and the leadership competencies you identified for each position. You may also wish to review any feedback received by your Instructor about these competencies. 

Step 4:  Read Profiles of Five Internal Candidates 

Read the profiles of the five internal candidates that have put themselves forward for leadership positions.

Candidate 2 – Henrietta Higgins – Current Position – Assistant Director of Purchasing 

(She would be best for Position 5: Director of Finance. See Team Deliverable 2)

Henrietta currently works at LSN Headquarters in the Purchasing Department. She is 28 years old with 3 years of college. Henrietta is a business administration major and expects to graduate in about one year. She is friendly and has a quiet demeanor. She does not tolerate much nonsense from people, hates surprises, and wants people to be brief in talking with her. 

When asked what she likes about her current position, she replied that she likes the feeling of a small business that her boss has created within the purchasing department. She appreciates that it makes her feel in control in such an environment. She likes the idea of a collaborative environment and responded well to the idea that her opinions and suggestions were always welcome. However, she expressed some concern that the youthful employees of IT, and some other departments, had plenty of opinions but not a lot of discipline in their work ethic. She has found that structure, procedures, and rules have worked better than asking for input. When asked how her staff perceived her, she laughed and said they called her a “Type A.” The interviewer noted that it was only one of two times during the interview that she held his gaze for any length of time during this statement. When asked what characteristics she thought a leader needed to possess to succeed in the 21st century, she replied, “…objective, practical, controlled and fair.” Higgins said her leadership style was transactional, but the interviewer was unsure if it was more authoritarian. 

When asked what leadership theory she thought was most likely to work in the 21st century, her reply was “Great Man because it emphasizes the characteristics of a person like honesty and trust.” Higgins’s knowledge of the business was sound, but she said no when asked if anyone could be a leader. It was up to the position that a person holds. Higgins did understand that sustainability was critical to the business. She said she had some ideas on making the process aspects of LSN better and more efficient while saving costs. She also thought that being eco-friendly was important but realized that was the other meaning of business sustainability. 

Step 5:  Succession Planning Table – Part Two 

Complete the Succession Planning Table – Part Two to help guide your decision-making approach. 

Step 6:  Succession Planning Report – Part Two 

Complete the Succession Planning Report – Part Two. This is the report that the President and CEO will review.  

Your Group’s Succession Planning Report Part Two will address Alexandria Marvel, the CEO and President of Life Science Nutraceuticals. The report should address all of the following elements, with each section supported by course materials. 

Introduction:

A description of your group’s succession planning process (from both last week and this week) 

Recommendations:

For each of the five positions, identity: 

• The internal candidate recommended for each position and why (supported by course materials).
• A brief discussion about any candidate not chosen for a leadership position at this time, with justification for this decision supported by course materials.
• If any of the positions cannot be filled by the current candidate pool, describe why an external search is recommended. (Note: The grading rubric assumes an external search is needed.)
• If any of the positions cannot be filled by the current candidate pool, briefly describe the qualities that you feel the LSN recruiting team should look for in the external candidate for this position. (Note: The grading rubric assumes your team will identify the qualities needed by external candidates.)

Summary:  

Describe briefly to President and CEO Marvel why your group’s recommendations are important for LSN’s future. 

Reference Page: (in APA format) 

Step 7:  Submit the completed Report in the Assignment Folder.  

Submit the Succession Planning Report Part Two into your Group’s Assignment Area. One submission should be made per group.

Other Required Elements:

Read the grading rubric for the project. Use the grading rubric while completing the project to ensure all requirements are met to lead to the highest possible grade. 

Third-person writing is required. Third-person means that there are no words such as “I, me, my, we, or us” (first-person writing), nor is there use of “you or your” (second-person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third- person. 

Contractions are not used in business reports, so do not use them.