Download - SEP_Global Warriors
“Cultivating a Culture of Global Leaders” Natalie Apadula and Jill Baum
PMBA 2016
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Biographical Sketch of the Founders
We are two graduate students working dead end jobs who feel we could do so much more with our lives and make a tangible change in the world. We decided to found an organization that will provide like-‐minded, motivated, recent graduates with opportunities that we never had.
Our program focuses on philanthropy and the ability to travel on a budget while gaining real-‐life experience in a specific field of study, cultivating a generation of leaders. We want to give those with fewer than 5 years of experience a chance at entry-‐level positions and gain the experience that every job requires.
Join us on our journey and we will put you on the exciting path to leadership!
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3
Alignment with Authentic Leadership
Personal Core Values …………………………………………………………………………………………………….5
Foundation Relevance to Personal Core Values …………………………………………………………….5
Vision Statement …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5
Mission Statement ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5
SWOT Analysis
Summaries of Domains ………………………………………………………………………………………………….6
Market Analysis …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….6
Entrepreneurial Focus
Formative Growth
Operations …………………………………………………………………………………………………………8
Finance …………………………………………………………………………………………………….………11
Marketing …………………………………………………………………………………………….………….13
Human Resources
Staffing …………………………………………………………………………………………………17
Rewards ……………………………………………………………………………………………….19
Institutional Growth
Intellectual Integrity ………………………………………………………………………………………..20
“Me” to “We” ………………………………………………………………………………………………….20
Resources ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..21
Sustainability …………………………………………………………………………………………………..22
Conclusion and Implications …………………………………………………………………………………………………..24
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Executive Summary
An organization who sponsors recent graduates to promote travel and work abroad. This program will involve participants with local philanthropy while gaining real world experience in a specific field of their choice, all while having the opportunity to travel and see the world.
Unemployment is one of the biggest fears of every recent graduate. The job market is tougher than ever and because of that, many graduating seniors are jumping at any opportunity they have just to get some income so that they can make their student loan payments. Their passions are thrown to the side in favor of the responsible thing to do. Their travel hopes and dreams are left with their memories of junior year study abroad semesters. But not anymore! Global Warriors is an organization that pairs recent graduates with employment positions abroad. This allows recent graduates to gain necessary experience needed for their dream positions while being able to see the world and gain invaluable knowledge. Real world experience, philanthropy, independence, self-‐discovery, passion for travel, adventure, and dedication are the pillars on which this organization is founded upon. The goal of creating a stronger global community is what all members of Global Warriors strive towards. There is currently no organization out there like this one. Global Warriors will be a pioneer in the temp agency realm for international placement focusing on recent graduates. We want to give those who have worked their tails off during their higher education to be able to see the payoff of their hard work and be rewarded with a position that doesn’t force them to give up their love of travel. The success of this organization won’t be easy and it will take a lot of hard work. But once the groundwork is laid down and the connections are established with universities and multinational companies, this organization has the potential to change the future and unemployment rate of recent graduates everywhere. A detailed 12-‐month plan is set in place to stabilize a foundation for the organization and gain the necessary backing in order to make a dream like this into a reality. From there, a subsequent year outline has been drawn up to ensure that far-‐reaching, yet realistic, goals can be met in order to ensure the sustainability of this organization. Finances have been taken into account and staffing needs and rewards have been developed based upon what is realistic and obtainable at various points in the establishment process. A detailed marketing strategy has also been plotted so that the necessary material is ready to be sent to the printer at a moment’s notice to start raising brand awareness and serving our target markets’ needs. Continuing further past logistics, plans and procedures have been set in place to leverage strengths of one against weaknesses of another. A continuous educational plan has been thought out because knowledge is endless and always needs to be cultivated. The future of Global Warriors is why we work hard today, and therefore a strategy has been developed to
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ensure that the values and key features are always lived through the employees and will be passed on to the future leaders long after initial success. Connections with mentors and advisors are crucial to navigating unchartered territory and have already been established and are ready to be utilized at any time. Global Warriors is an organization that will not be around solely for a year or so. A sustainability plan has also been developed to ensure that this organization is prepared to change with social and society evolution to make sure that it is always viable in any environment.
While having a high school degree used to be enough to make it into the middle class, the bar is higher today. Millennials are the first generation that needs to have a college degree and experience to be able to compete and enter the workforce. Global Warriors gives hope to those who feel helpless in this vast world of employment. It allows young and hungry individuals the chance they feel they don’t have without the restrictions of experience and choosing responsibility over feeding the soul. Global Warriors will fight for the future generations both financially and passionately.
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Alignment with Authentic Leadership
Personal Core Values: • Real World Experience • Philanthropy • Independence • Self-‐discovery • Passion for travel • Adventure • Dedication
Foundation Relevance to Personal Core Values:
Passion for travel and a drive for success often leave recent graduates with a sense of confusion. The need for financial security pushes young professionals into entry-‐level jobs, not allowing passions to be explored, and bringing learning and creativity to a halt. Global Warriors wants to provide recent graduates with the opportunity to capitalize on their desire to see the world while gaining much needed experience in the fields of their choice. Through education, networking, and dedication, our staff helps recent graduates with all components related to international travel and work abroad, connecting multinational companies and professionals for job opportunities, providing foundation scholarships for relocation costs, and companies to assist with abroad housing and visas in order to make the process as simple as applying for any local position.
Vision Statement:
Global Warriors will be the ultimate organization for global connectivity for job placement through education, networking, and discovery.
Mission Statement:
Through networking, education, community awareness, philanthropy, and adventure, Global Warriors strives to connect young professionals with abroad opportunities to promote self and international discovery while making a positive impact on the global community.
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SWOT Analysis Strengths:
• Unique • Growing network of seasoned professionals who are aware of ever-‐changing
international laws • Reaches a global community • Capitalizes on a sector that will always have a need • Mission/Vision Statement will resonate well with targeted audience • Increased philanthropy for businesses involved, can use as Community Service
Responsibility • Businesses will be able to train and groom young talent to their policies, procedures,
and culture • Participants will be able to gain real-‐world experience in their field of study, securing a
career that will allow them to learn and grow with an organization -‐ putting them on the path to leadership
Weaknesses:
• Global economies are never constant and therefore job placement needs may vary • Being a new organization means that name recognition would need to be established in
order to gain credibility and a following • As a pioneer in this venture, there are no trial and error practices that have already
been established – all components will be new and have the opportunity for failure Opportunities:
• Targeting a market that is currently in desperate need of job placement • Study Abroad is growing rapidly in universities around the world, allowing for a broad
target audience • Multi-‐national companies are given the chance to find employees who are able to be
fluid throughout many locations and teach the values and inner workings at any location • Global community interacting with a goal towards achieving the vision for the workforce
of the future Threats:
• Having Americans look for US salaries in an age of globalization where cheaper labor is available
• International affairs will play a role in where we can target job placement and where it will be safe to send our professionals
• Companies may prefer to promote from within for abroad opportunities rather than bring in new staff
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Market Analysis
We have segmented our market into young, recent college graduates in the United States, who are involved with their community and interested in traveling and working abroad.
The target market for our business, while widespread, is rather unique in terms of how we are approaching the population. Though there are many undergraduates/recent graduates with little to no work experience, Global Warriors will be targeting these individuals with an opportunity for growth in more than just the workplace. We not only offer job placements that may not have otherwise been available, but we also offer once-‐in-‐a-‐lifetime traveling experiences all over the world.
For young college graduates, the current unemployment rate is 7.2 percent, compared to 5.5 percent in 2007. The underemployment rate is currently 14.9 percent, compared with 9.6 percent in 2007. Recent college graduates make up about 40 percent of the unemployed in the United States. We hope to saturate this growing market and help to shrink these numbers, placing recent graduates into jobs that will blossom into careers.
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Entrepreneurial Focus: Formative Growth
Operations:
12-‐Month Plan:
Month 1: Find primary, local companies to target to recruit for participation in our program, establish a sales strategy to market to these companies, order promotional items to use in the company recruitment process, plan initial meetings, start the process to incorporate the non-‐profit
Month 2: Founders start to attend meetings with companies to try to get their involvement within this program, grow the company base and work on positions available for employment opportunities, begin the process for tax exemption for the organization, apply for grants and solicit donations
Month 3: Continue to market Global Warriors to companies with offices abroad, try to expand the areas of the possible employment possibilities to have options for people of all interest areas, register with the state agency for a non-‐profit in order to be listed in their registry
Month 4: Work on collaboration efforts with the Rotary, which have offices all over and provide foundation money in order to try to establish one of our own, continue to expand the company base with employment possibilities, consult with the international law attorney to start gathering information on visa laws and international employment regulations
Month 5: Have a base of 15 employment options pending logistics for new recent graduate recruits, have a database of popular destination regulations for any positions to be filled, continue to expand the company base to get more employment opportunities with multinational companies
Month 6: Founders will continue to expand the company base to get as many possible job opportunities as possible into a database for the next stage of recruiting young professionals, begin to look at home office options -‐ leases, locations, etc. -‐ to see what would make the most logical sense, meet with the accountant at the half year mark to check on funding, tax exemption, and incorporation, start the hiring process of sales/recruiting personnel to help search out companies who would have potential employment opportunities,
Month 7: Founders will continue to set up recruiting meetings with companies in the meantime, work on advertising through local avenues to get the most exposure possible, begin the training process for new hires
Month 8: Establish the home office and organize, continue with sales meetings, start the recruiting process for candidates of recent graduates by attending job fairs and speaking with university career development offices
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Month 9: Recruit for candidates at universities and job fairs at full force, cultivate a strong following through promotional items and advertising for recent graduates to come and interview with Global Warriors to check their compatibility with us and our available job opportunities, select participants of young professionals to partake in the Global Warrior job placement program, provide cultural training to these individuals using GlobeSmart to check their cultural sensitivity to the countries in which they are being placed, coordinate all travel plans, housing
Month 10: Ensure that all job placements, travel plans, housing arrangements, and visas are in order for all of the hires brought on last month, address any hold ups, have local training with the companies for young professionals to get basic knowledge and training of their positions before going overseas
Month 11: Send off hired recent graduates to their designated positions, continue to recruit new recent graduates and companies for new available positions and expand the database, keep the continuous cycle of hiring and training new young professionals for new positions as they arise
Month 12: Follow up and check in with the young professionals that were placed last month to ensure that everything was going well and that they are enjoying their experiences, make a plan to address any problems that they are having to avoid the same problems in the future
Subsequent Year Operational Plan:
Year 2
Quarter 1: Develop a survey to send to those who were recently hired to have a quality check on our recruiting process, our hiring process, their actual jobs and experiences in comparison to the job description advertised
Quarter 2: Continue to place more candidates into their international positions, have follow up calls with the initial round of new hires to make sure that everything is still going smoothly, review international laws for the countries in which we have employees to ensure that we remain compliant in all ways
Quarter 3: Explore the option of hiring more sales/recruiting personnel in order to keep up with the growing trend of Global Warriors and make sure the more companies and recent graduates are being reached about our program
Quarter 4: Evaluate our hiring and recruitment process, enact changes that need to be made based on the results from the quarter one survey, continue to place as many graduates as possible into new positions to create the biggest global job placement company
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Year 3
Quarter 1: Repeat the same survey with the year two hires, alter goals for this year in order to keep growing the company and recruit base, plan/budget personnel needs for this upcoming year to ensure that we can hire the necessary personnel onto the Global Warriors staff in order to keep up with demand
Quarter 2: Hire necessary new personnel onto the Global Warriors team, conduct follow up calls with year two hires, perform an international law compliance check for all of the countries in which we have candidates employed, as well as for countries that we are looking to expand into
Quarter 3: Analyze where Global Warriors is lacking with regard to in-‐house personnel, see where we need to revisit policy changes, grow the database for both positions and candidates by 20%
Quarter 4: Evaluate our hiring and recruitment process, enact changes required based on quarter one surveys, continue to place as many young professionals into new positions as possible to round out the last of the year
Year 4
Quarter 1: Continue with the survey system for the previous year’s hires, alter goals for this upcoming year to keep up with societal needs and ensure that we are correctly marketing companies for new positions and new recent graduate candidates
Quarter 2: Perform an international law compliance check to ensure that there are no issues, update testimonials on the website with recent feedback from new hires
Quarter 3: Analyze Global Warrior policy and make necessary changes, continue to grow the database by an additional 23% from last year’s goal
Quarter 4: Evaluate the hiring and recruitment process, enact changes required based on quarter one surveys, continue to place as many young professionals as possible into their dream positions
Year 5
Quarter 1: Conduct surveys amongst the previous year’s hires, alter goals for the upcoming year, re-‐evaluate marketing material to make sure that everything is current and reaching our target market effectively, international law compliance check
Quarter 2: Work with companies such as EF, CIS, and GoAbroad to create the same sort of liaising that is done on an employment level with companies for positions for undergraduate sophomores and juniors for study abroad opportunities, setup affordable pricing and a large network of locations for which students can travel, build a curriculum to follow for students wanting to apply through Global Warriors, continue to grow the database of positions and hires by 25%
Quarter 3: Start to expand the company into undergraduate universities and offer study abroad opportunities to sophomores and juniors to increase brand awareness
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within the universities for new recent graduates looking for employment opportunities abroad.
Quarter 4: Perform a five year evaluation to see how the company is stacking up against the goals that were set in year one, the mission statement, and the vision statement, evaluate how close the company is operating to the mission and make recommendations for change if the direction of the company is veering away from our foundation
Assessment Tools and Timeframe
Assessment of our goals will be done through numeric goals set forth in quarter one of each year. Database expansion goals should be met yearly, and goals set forth over several years should be met within that timeframe as well. Necessary changes that need to be made to the recruitment and hiring process will be evaluated yearly and will be determined based on feedback given by the new hires. We will also need to conduct surveys with the companies to ensure that we are upholding expectations from that side of the organization as well. All evaluations should be done yearly. International compliance should be checked quarterly, with larger audit-‐like checks done in quarter two every year.
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Finance Global Warriors
Statement of Cash Flows
Initial Investment $25,000
Cash Flow From Operating Activities
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Initial Investment
-$25,000
$0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Travel and Recruiting Costs
-$5,000 -$6,000 -$8,000 -$12,000 -$15,000
Accounts Receivable
$0 $25,000 $45,000 $60,000 $75,000
Salaries
-$20,000
-$75,000
-$115,000
-$160,000
-$200,000
Cash Flow from Investing Activities
Grants
$25,000 $35,000 $50,000 $65,000 $80,000
Donations
$10,000 $30,000 $45,000 $70,000 $90,000
Test Market Costs (surveys, interviews, etc)
-$2,000 -$1,000 -$1,000 -$1,000 -$1,000
Start Up Costs
Marketing/Promotional Tools
-$2,000 -$3,500 -$5,000 -$7,000 -$10,000
Lawyer/Accountant Retainers
-$2,000 -$3,000 -$4,000 -$6,000 -$8,000
Total Cash Flow
$4,000 $1,500 $7,000 $9,000 $11,000
As aforementioned, Global Warriors will be pairing with local Rotary Clubs in order to gain funding for the organization. We can work in tandem with the Rotary on philanthropy and community outreach, possibly also finding new potential candidates.
The main grant-‐lending organizations to which we will apply for grants includes:
• Social Entrepreneur and Enterprise Development of NJ: This organization is for startup businesses based in New Jersey and grants from $2,000-‐$25,000.
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• Social Innovation: This organization provides grants to businesses that have social impact. Grants range from $2,000-‐$25,000.
• Neighborhood Partners Program: This organization provides grants to local non-‐profits that support projects with demonstrated impact on improving the quality of life in local communities. Maximum award is $5,000.
Marketing
The below marketing tactics will be useful in promoting our brand throughout the projected five-‐year plan.
During months one through six, Jill and Natalie will be attending many college job fairs as a vendor and holding speaker events at university career centers. At these events, we will hand out business cards, pens, and USB drives to prospective candidates. These materials appeal to our audience as college students always need pens, and they will be able to use the USB drives for their assignments, or for personal use. Below are some examples of the promotional materials that will be distributed.
In addition to career fairs and panel events, Global Warriors will aim to be featured in university newspapers and websites, sending out press releases about our launch and events that students can attend. We will also look to be interviewed on student radio stations and podcasts.
Global Warriors will launch a Facebook page and campaign that will get users engaged. The campaign will include surveys, polls, and contests. This will be a great way to measure interest and demographics of potential candidates. To get possible candidates involved and get our name out, we will hold a photo contest, asking users to submit their best travel photos to win an interview with us and a chance at being one of the first participants in the program. Below is a snippet of the Facebook page created for Global Warriors.
In order to appeal to the traveler niche, Global Warriors will work to get a guest blog spot on travel blogs with a large following. Namely travel agencies that advertise low fares, so that we can narrow down our audience and be more visible to our target market, which includes recent graduates on a budget.
Global Warriors has a standard for the caliber of participants in terms of being involved with the community. To become more visible to this audience, we will team up with local organizations to hold events and fundraisers, such as homeless shelters and animal shelters.
Once our first group of participants is shipped off to their destinations, Global Warriors will have them rotate as admin of the Instagram page, posting photos and documenting their experiences.
Further down the line, Global Warriors plans to build brand partnerships with travel-‐based companies such as Airbnb and Lonely Planet.
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Sample Marketing Materials
Business Cards:
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Pens:
USB Drives:
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Facebook Page:
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Human Resources: Staffing From the very start, the only staff will be Natalie and Jill working in tandem to make visits to companies to work business for their staffing needs. The two of them will be out in the field working to gain a traction from local and international businesses in order to get the business’ name out there. At this stage, there won’t be enough funding in place to hire anyone who isn’t essential to the initial operations. At this point, the only staff in addition to Natalie and Jill will be an accountant kept on retainer, and an international lawyer also kept on retainer. The accountant will help with the bookkeeping and tax necessities associated with a non-‐profit. The attorney will be helping in understanding the laws associated with sending personnel abroad to work for our client companies, ensuring that all paperwork and necessary visas are obtained so that we remain compliant at all times. Beginning around month six, Global Warriors will be bringing on 1-‐2 part-‐time additional sales/recruiter employees to focus on continuing to bring in business from companies looking to hire abroad, but will mainly focus on the university market and bringing in the recent graduates who are looking for employment overseas. These individuals will be at job fairs and presentations at the universities to expand our base to both target markets. This will allow the founders to bring their focus back to the running of the business practice and recruiting larger organizations, as well as coordinating hiring procedures for the recent graduates. The legal and accounting representatives will be needed to give their expertise throughout all operational phases of this business venture, as highlighted above. As far as training and development, no training will be needed within the first six months due to the fact that the founders will be the only in-‐house employees. Their training will come from mentoring by respected individuals with positions in multinational companies as well as a trial and error basis, being that this basis for an organization is unique and there are no organizations out there such as this. When sales/recruiting personnel are brought on in the later part of the first year, they will have a week-‐long in-‐house training with the founders in which they will learn the basis of the mission and vision statement, and the overall foundation of Global Warriors to make sure that they are well-‐equipped to converse with prospecting cooperating companies and recent graduates looking for employment. After this week-‐long training, there will be a shadowing basis for training on how to converse with prospective clients and how the pitch should differ from a company we are trying to coordinate employment with versus a recent graduate we are trying to coordinate employment for. Once we get to a place where we have high enough volume to warrant volunteers and additional in-‐office help, the training for these individuals will be very similar. However, if they will be dealing with the paperwork end of the hiring process for our candidates, there will need to be additional training by the founders to ensure that all forms are properly filled out and in the proper time frame, and all of the proper documentation is obtained from both parties.
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Requirements for admission:
• Minimum Graduating GPA of 3.5 • Minimum of 100 Community Service hours during senior year • Must be involved in fundraising efforts to help cover costs • Must apply for Work Holiday Visa • We as an organization will need to sponsor candidates, or company where they
will be employed • Team with GlobeSmart, a program which analyzes cultural sensitivities and
require all applicants to take this assessment for the country in which they want to work
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Rewards A love and passion for travel is the foundation of Global Warriors. This driving force is what drove us to open our doors in the first place. Therefore, the rewards should be in alignment with this foundational piece. Being that Global Warriors is a non-‐profit and won’t have the additional funds to pay for an employee to travel for pleasure as a reward, we would propose the option to travel in the form of a business trip. It would be important for us as a company to check the sites of some of the locations in which we are sending our new employees to work overseas for safety reasons. These trips will be a necessary part of business operations. Therefore, we will base our rewards on those most worthy to take these trips for us. In the area of sales/recruiting personnel, the individual with the largest base increase over a designated period of time will be granted the opportunity to travel abroad to visit a location in which we have someone working. The evaluations will be done yearly in order to provide ample time for everyone to contribute and put their best foot forward. This trip will come with the strings of networking with the location they are visiting and reporting back on the type of work and the working conditions of the recent graduates we are sending, but will come with an extension of 2 days to the trip for personal travel. We don’t want our employees to lose their love of travel by being forced to work the entire time and not be able to immerse him-‐ or herself into the culture. That is the main reason why the founders did not want to seek employment for a multinational company that forces them to travel all of the time – they didn’t want to risk losing their passion by not being able to take advantage of their time and travel becoming a chore rather than a hobby. By using this rewards system, we are remaining fiscally responsible with our limited funds by utilizing trips that we would have to take anyway, and giving the additional bonus as a bigger reward. This will encourage our recruitment team to promote our business and bring in the most employment opportunities and new staff possible, while remaining in line with our values and mission.
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Entrepreneurial Growth: Institutional Growth Intellectual Integrity Looking at one of the founders, Jill, her strengths include organization, time management, and public speaking. Her strengths follow the more logical thinking, whereas her weaknesses include more creative aspects. Ideas for new marketing material don’t flow as readily as her color-‐coding and scheduling abilities. Luckily for her, her co-‐founder, Natalie, is a creative genius. Her ability to come up with innovative ideas and utilize design software is a match for no other. This pair perfectly balances out with the strengths compensating for the other’s weaknesses. Both founders truly thrive at the behind-‐the-‐scenes tasks that are required for the operation of an organization. This is why the hiring of outside recruiters will benefit Global Warriors for long-‐term sustainability. People with outgoing personalities who are able to connect with possible companies for positions and recent graduates looking for overseas jobs will greatly benefit the organization because they will be able to focus on the personal relations and allow the founders to focus on making the logistics work smoothly and focus on relations with the donors and benefactors. Self-‐education is mandatory for young founders. Both cofounders will be working hard to network and find mentors to help guide them through the process. They will be constantly learning about international law and the visa process. The evolution of this organization is founded on the basis of constant education and growth. Both professional, educational, and personal growth are mandatory for the success of Global Warriors. There is no organization currently like it, and therefore there will be a lot of trial and error in the way of education. But through experience, mentoring, and research, Global Warriors will be able to be sustained for many years.
“Me” to “We” Travel is an element of life that we are very passionate about. Getting the opportunity to travel always strikes up this burning passion inside. Global Warriors strives to grow this passion to others. This organization helps to make professional experiences that many don’t see as a possibility into a reality. We strive to not only help in the area of professional development and networking, but we take these dreams a step further into the obtainable by providing links to visas and legal obligations, as well as affordable housing and making the idea of an international relocation much more feasible. The founding principles of this organization were a love of travel and international experiences, and basing this off of experiences and opportunities that we wish we had. Through creating this organization, we are providing this new chance to the younger generation who are in a world where jobs are scarce and the choice to chase dreams over practicality is nearly impossible. We want all recent grads to have the chance that we didn’t – to be able to combine a love of travel with the responsibilities of gaining job
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experience. Recent grads will not only have a chance to gain real-‐world experience in their field of choice, but will also be making a difference through community service. Coaching is going to be a very large part of leadership success. The co-‐founders are going to be coached by mentors throughout the process, and in turn will coach the new hires through the process. Employees of Global Warriors will be coached on the hiring process, international laws, selling the organization, and recruiting recent graduates. There will be a lot of shadowing through the training process and constructive feedback will be given. By doing this, we can ensure that the individuals representing Global Warrior are always upholding our values and represent what the foundation of the organization is. By cultivating our employees to be positive representations of our brand and meaning, we can feel confident moving forward that this message will translate to the newer employees as time goes on since the ones living this foundation will be training the next generation of Global Warriors. At the beginning of this venture, the co-‐founders will be responsible for all aspects of running the organization. But as time goes on, more and more personnel are going to be brought on board. These individuals will be imperative to the operation of the organization. They will be brought on to help with tasks and will all have a specialization. By delegating responsibilities to them, they will have a vested interest in the organization. People who have a sense of ownership in something tend to have more pride in their work and put their best foot forward. By giving these employees some leeway to make positive changes and make a meaningful impact on the organization, we are cultivating a positive environment where people can see the impact they make and want to continue to bring this organization further into the future. Resources: Mentors and external advisors are pivotal when starting up an organization that is a pioneer to a field. Because of this, we want to get input from as many people covering as many specialties as possible. One of the first people we will be seeking guidance from is Mary Ellen Prentis. The former VP of Operations for Victoria’s Secret is now a consultant at Nine West focusing on supply chain management. Mrs. Prentis has focused on international relations and production throughout her career. She will be a fantastic resource for helping with not only international relations, but also helping us develop a marketing strategy and understand the necessities for multinational companies and what they seek in employees for their foreign branches. As a consultant she works with companies who need to restructure in order to turn around their business and become profitable. This allows her to be a great resource for also understanding the human resources aspect of hiring personnel because she will be able to provide insight for key aspects that are necessary in order to remain viable in the companies in which we are trying to target. Another mentor who will serve to be helpful in many ways similar to Mrs. Prentis will be Chris Smart. Mr. Smart is the current VP of Operations of Digital Mediums for Ralph Lauren. He oversees all of the international relations from a website and media standpoint for Ralph Lauren and has gained much experience over his career in personnel and relations. He will be
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able to help us with the qualities that we should look at in our recent graduates as well as our prospective companies. He will also be able to help us from a media standpoint in developing a proper website and in-‐house database systems, being that that is his specialty. Global Warriors is going to need a very strong technological base to create proper databases and hiring portals in order to make this organization a success. A third resource will be Rotary International. Rotary International has similar aspects to the Global Warriors, and therefore would be a wonderful resource for us to have. While we differ in that we find positions abroad and coordinate with the companies on our own accord and market to recent graduates for job placement, Rotary International is a network of professionals that focus on service and work to better the communities they are in. This would be a fantastic partner to team with because service is a large component of our foundation, and we want our members to remain engaged in community service. Rotary International is also familiar with international regulations and networks, and would help us to establish connections, follow important regulations professionally, but will also help us with the cultural tolerance we want to instill in our employees and hires. Similarly to advisors and mentors, it is important to network at all times. This will be done through job fairs, community professional gatherings, and Rotary International connections. Due to the nature of our organization, we will be relying a lot on for-‐profit organizations to sponsor us in order to have success. Without the coordination and teamwork with for-‐profit organizations, we wouldn’t have job placement opportunities for our targeted recent graduates. Global Warriors by nature is a close-‐knit organization at the start. With only the two founders serving as the sole employees for the first several months, there are bound to be organizational changes as the organization grows and more employees are brought on. Bringing on additional personnel will help in the ability to accomplish more tasks in a timelier manner, but adding more personalities to the mix will bring about more interpersonal conflict as well. We will be focusing more on human resource manners with more people than we would with only two employees. As we add more branches over the long-‐term period, we will have to deal with running a satellite location and ensuring that operations there uphold our mission to obtain our vision while keeping our values and foundation at the forefront, but will have to be regulated from afar. More responsibility will be put on staff in these locations as the organization grows from a mom-‐and-‐pop feel to a more “corporate” tiered structure. This will bring about bigger decisions with greater risks and complications that are necessary for the growth of the organization. Sustainability: The organizational culture is a primary aspect of keeping an organization afloat. Without a supporting and nurturing atmosphere that drives happiness and productivity, employees will not be performing at their best. Global Warrior was built on passion and drive, and the love of adventure and success. Our culture needs to reflect that.
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Global Warrior is very goal oriented and passionate organization. Our culture revolves around bettering young professionals while engaging global partners. We pride ourselves on customer service and professional development. Leadership is another key aspect for organizational success. A path-‐goal style of leadership would work well. Relating to the employees in order to operate at a high level of success requires altering the motivations to each follower and tailoring the rewards and punishments to each individual so that they are impactful. As the leaders, Jill and Natalie must set clear, attainable goals to measure performance. We would implement a coaching leadership style, meaning we are highly supportive and highly directive. We will set standards and offer flexible solutions to support our employees as they reach goals for themselves and the company. Decision making is what keeps an organization operating. Both in the short-‐term and long-‐term, the founders, Jill and Natalie, will be responsible for approving and making all major decisions. As more employees get brought onto the team, then the style can switch to a more collaborative effort where everyone’s voices are heard, but the ultimate decision and responsibility fall onto the founders. The transition to a collaborative element will begin around eighteen months, after the company is established and personnel who have been hired have been with the organization long enough to understand the inner workings and have an understanding that will allow them to viably contribute to the discussion.
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Conclusion and Implications
As mentioned in the Market Analysis, for young college graduates, the current unemployment rate is 7.2 percent, compared to 5.5 percent in 2007. The underemployment rate is currently 14.9 percent, compared with 9.6 percent in 2007. Recent college graduates make up about 40 percent of the unemployed in the United States.
The future looks bleak, as these numbers are on an upward trend. While having a high school degree used to be enough to make it into the middle class, the workforce is much different today. Millenials are the first generation that not only needs a college degree, but also experience in order to land an entry level position in their field of choice.
Global Warriors hopes to bridge the gap between education and employment, offering entry-‐level experience for recent graduates to begin careers in their field of study, all while having the opportunity to travel, that they may not have had otherwise. We hope to not only be a place of solace for young adults, but also a place of self-‐discovery and adventure.
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Works Cited
http://www.njnonprofits.org/FundingOps.html http://www.newsweek.com/2015/06/05/millennial-‐college-‐graduates-‐young-‐educated-‐jobless-‐335821.html http://www.epi.org/publication/the-‐class-‐of-‐2015/