In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:

In this project, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following competency:
Evaluate trends in business for their potential impact on operations and personnel
Scenario
You are a project manager in the human resources department of a domestic airline, Clear Sky Air. Your manager recently shared that Clear Sky Air will be acquiring a small international airline, Intercontinental Airways. Your manager explained that Clear Sky Air was interested in acquiring Intercontinental Airways in order to further penetrate the market and increase their international flight options. While this is an exciting acquisition for many customers and employees, some are resistant to change and have concerns about this process. In order to make the transition as smooth as possible, your manager has asked you and your team to analyze focus group results and make recommendations based on these results.
Your team has been assigned two major issues associated with the merger—one related to operations and one to personnel—to help your company better manage change and make sound decisions as a result of this acquisition. Your manager has provided you with a summary of results from two focus groups. The first is a focus group of 1,000 customers and employees—half from Clear Sky Air and half from Intercontinental Airways—regarding marketing and public relations concerns. The second is a focus group of 1,000 employees—half from Clear Sky Air and half from Intercontinental Airways—regarding compensation and benefits concerns. You will use these results to identify trends related to each focus group, and then you will make recommendations to effectively manage this change.
Directions
Your manager has provided you with focus group results: the Marketing and Public Relations Focus Group Summary of Results and the Compensation and Benefits Focus Group Summary of Results. As you examine these results, provide an analysis of trends followed by a recommendation based on these trends. In order to do that, you must complete the following:
Introduction: To begin your analysis, explain the importance of conducting environmental scans to identify trends inside and outside of an organization. Environmental scanning is a process that surveys and interprets relevant data types to identify and analyze internal and external opportunities and threats. Some examples include SWOT, PEST, interviews, and focus groups. Your manager wants you to set the stage for your analysis by supporting your points with an overall perspective of the importance of this type of analysis. Be sure to answer the following questions:
Why is it important to understand trends in business that may impact operations and personnel?
Why is it important for businesses to respond preemptively to potential changes inside and outside the organization?
Analysis of Trends: In this section, you will think critically about the focus group results that your manager provided. Include the following:
Operations Trends: The specific operations piece that you have been assigned is marketing and public relations. Identify and describe at least two operations trends within the focus group results that may be impacted by the change. You are given broad trends in the results. You will need to explain how these trends may have both positive and negative impacts on operations.
Personnel Trends: The specific personnel piece that you have been assigned is compensation and benefits. Identify and describe at least two personnel trends within the focus group results that may be impacted by the change. You are given broad trends in the results. You will need to explain how these trends may have both positive and negative impacts on personnel.
Recommendations: For your final section, you will need to provide recommendations to your manager based on your analysis of the focus group results. Be sure to include the following:
Operations Recommendations: Make at least two recommendations regarding operations that will help manage the change. Be sure to justify your recommendation with specific citations from the focus group results and external resources.
Note: Examples of recommendations might include a specific communication plan regarding a proposed change, the recommendation to move forward with a particular change including a detailed rationale, reasons to avoid a particular change including a detailed rationale, etc.
Personnel Recommendations: Make at least two recommendations regarding personnel that will help manage the change. Be sure to justify your recommendation with specific citations from the focus group results and external resources.
Note: Examples of recommendations might include a specific communication plan regarding a proposed change, the recommendation to move forward with a particular change including a detailed rationale, reasons to avoid a particular change including a detailed rationale, etc.
What to Submit
Every project has a deliverable or deliverables, which are the files that must be submitted before your project can be assessed. For this project, you must submit the following:
Focus Group Analysis
You will submit a focus group analysis to your manager that includes identification of trends and recommendations for operations and personnel based on focus group results. It should be 1,500 to 2,000 words in length.