For your Portfolio Project, you will encapsulate what you have learned about leadership and about yourself in this course. Before you begin, reflect on all the assignments in this course. There are two parts to this Portfolio Project Option #2 assignment:

Part I: Influencing Effective Change in the Organization (185 points)

Reflect on the readings from this course that relate to approaches to effective change. As part of this assignment, consider the importance of creating a diverse organization and creating a culture in which employees are motivated and productive.
1.Define the importance of leading effective change within an organization. 
2.Share two benefits of creating and accepting diversity within the organization. 
3.Define the concept of organizational culture and its impact in the workplace 

Your well-written paper should be 3-4 pages long, include a minimum of three outside resources, and be formatted according to CSU-Global Guide to Writing and APA Requirements. The CSU-Global Library is a good place to find these resources. For more information, see the Portfolio Project Rubric in the Module 8 folder.

Part II: Scenario (165 points)

For this section of the Portfolio Project, you will demonstrate how you would influence change within an organization based on the scenario below. 

Imagine you are a sales manager for a large retail store. The economic downturn has resulted in the loss of seven out of 15 staff members who used to be on your team. Sales have decreased in the past year and the store is suffering significant financial loss. Your regional leader has asked that you develop a plan to increase sales by 20% in the next year. You turn to your employees for their assistance. Describe how you would tackle this request considering the following:
1.As a leader, how would you deliver this information to your existing staff? For example, how would you introduce this project to your staff? What leadership skills would you use to implement this change successfully?
2.How might diversity serve as an advantage to reaching this goal? What kinds of strategies would you employ to ensure each person is part of the project and is working from their strengths? How might a diverse staff and/or clientele be a benefit to the overarching goal?
3.What tools would you implement to create a departmental/organizational culture that is productive and innovative? Describe at least three strategies that would accomplish this. How might best practices such as motivation contribute to organizational culture?

Part II of your Portfolio may be delivered in the form most suitable to represent this section (e.g., written paper, PowerPoint, or an internet-based presentation tool such as Prezi or SlideRocket, a web page or a video). The profile should be well written; if you choose the written format, the paper should be 5-6 pages in length. If you choose an alternative format, it should contain the same depth, breadth, substance, and quality of form that would be in a well-written 5- to 6-page paper. A presentation should contain 10-12 content slides with fully annotated notes plus a title slide and reference slide using APA standards. A web page or a video must also have a title as well as references. This part of the Portfolio assignment must cite at least three outside references.

For more information, review the Portfolio Project Rubric—Part II, provided in the Module 8 folder