CASE #$2$: MODMASK

Overview: Bzzz$.$ Bzzzzz$.$ Maryam Garg, a master$$s student in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Southern California, looked down at her cell phone to see who was calling her in the middle of shooting a commercial. The called ID indicated it was the manufacturer responsible for stitching together the high$-$end fabric masks for her brand$-$new start$-$up company, MODMASK. Since launching MODMASK two months earlier $$ in February $2020,$ just before the COVID$-19$ pandemic hit the United States $$ the back and forth she$$d had with her primary supplier had not always been easy. Yet lately she$$d been feeling they were finally starting to see eye to eye. As the phone buzzed on her lap, her heart began to pound. She had put countless hours and her own savings into building the young business, but she knew it could all unravel if her supplier did not reliably deliver on the carefully designed masks. Garg answered, only to hear the words she dreaded most: $$Maryam$,$ the state is shutting us down. We have to stop the current batch of your masks.$$

Discussion Questions

$1.$ What stages of decision making are mainly discussed in this case? To what extent and in what ways did the change in the earlier stages affect later stages of decision making about the selection of the right partnership for MODMASK?

$2.$ Based on the events described in this scenario, how has specific activities supported creativity?

$3.$ To help Garg think about the next set of decisions to be made about the business, discuss the role of emotions and intuition in the decision$-$making process.

$4.$ Think of another organization to which you belong, e$.$g$.,$ work, school, religious group. What are its dominant cultural values, how do you see them in action, and how do they affect the effectiveness of that organization?

$5.$ Identify two $(2)$ strategies that Garg might consider to reinforce the set of corporate values that are important going forward. Explain the likely consequences of these strategies after implementation.

Based on above makeProject Plan $-$ Group $(5\%)$

FORMAT: Your project plan needs a title page, table of contents, references page, introduction, conclusion, and all group members must sign the title page or provide a signature page at the end of the report.

Components of the project plan must include:

$1.$ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This should be around $1-2$ paragraphs describing your understanding of the issues faced by the organization and your objectives for the project $($both group and client$).$ In other words,

$$ What has your $$consulting group$$ been hired to do and what you are expected to achieve by their $$client$?$

$$ What are your deliverables for a$)$ your client and b$)$ your group?

$2.$ DRAFT OUTLINE: You will need to provide an outline of your report which must include a summary of the problem$($s$)$ identified in the case study and an overview of the OB theories that you intend to use to help explain the problem$($s$)$ identified.

$3.$ ACTION PLAN $($SOPE OF WORK$)$: Your action plan details all parts of the project, including a project schedule, what tasks will be completed, and how those will be assigned among group members.

This should include a table $($see Action Plan template below$)$ showing the breakdown of the project into:

$$ a list of SPECIFIC TASKS $-$ describing what tasks need to be done to complete this project,

$$ RESPONSIBILITIES $-$ who is responsible for each task? Who is the back$-$up for each task? Who is the supervisor for each task?

$$ TIMELINES $$ specific timetable with dates of tasks to be completed

Titles such as $$Write report$$ are too broad. What will your group have to complete to create their report? What research, editing, formatting, proofreading is needed and who will do these tasks? Who will create the title page, table of contents, etc.? Who is responsible for getting the citations done correctly? Who will upload the report and the appendix? Who is responsible for the various parts of the written report?

ACTION PLAN

Specific Task$($s$)$ Responsibility Timeline

$1$

$2$

$3$

$4$ this project plan,