interviewing a manager or successful entrepreneur and writing a report about their answers to questions related to their industry, organization, leadership style, strategic planning, controlling tools, competitive advantage, diversity, social responsibility, globalization, and Porter’s

You are charged with interviewing a manager or successful entrepreneur (with at least a 5 person staff), preferably in person. Phone interviews can be used if an in-person interview is difficult logistically. After interviewing the manager (and asking them the questions below), you will write up a report consisting of the following:
A. Intro Paragraph: Include contact information of the middle manager and the number of employees that report directly to the manager. Describe the interviewee’s background and career/educational path to management. What is the mission of the company?
B. Answers to the following questions:
How has your industry changed over the last ten years? What non-controllable environmental factors have been most significant for your organization?
How would you describe your organization’s culture? How do you know this?
What is your leadership style? What has been the positives/negatives of using this style?
How is the Strategic Planning process used in your organization?
Describe one Controlling tool used by your organization.
What is your organization’s competitive advantage? If a non-profit, how do you compete against other non-profits for funds?
Can you provide a specific example of how a diverse workforce has benefited your organization?
What is your organization’s perspective on social responsibility?
How has globalization affected your organization?
Using Porter’s Five Forces, what is the degree of each force for your company (H/M/L)? If a non-profit, how have generational differences affected managing the organization?
C. Concluding paragraph: What word of advice would you give students who want to become managers in the future?
The final written project will consist of:
No more than 4 typed pages and must be in a Word document only
Integrating at least twenty key terms (underline and Bold the terms) from this course.
Do not count the terms used in the question – for example, for #9, “globalization” should not be underlined in your answer, but “power distance” would be appropriate).
Block format (type out the question, then summarize the answer underneath) in Times New Roman, 12 point font, single space. Be sure to number the question and leave spaces between each question/answer set.
The use of third person and written as a summary, not a quote from the person.
Your interviewee may not answer the question in the context that you are asking. It is your responsibility to clarify terms and explain to them the material. For example, when asking question #5 on Strategic Planning, the emphasis is on “strategic”, not operational planning. In this case, be prepared to explain what you mean by the strategic planning process. Simply providing the interviewee’s immediate response, which fails to answer the intended question, will cost points.
Your job is to take what the interviewee says and apply the appropriate terminology in your written summary. For example, your interviewee may describe themselves as a leader who always asks for input first and makes a collective decision. They may not use the word “democratic” style but that is what they mean and you should therefore include that term in your report.
In a rare case of the interviewee not having an answer, formulate a new question around a related topic.