Road trip - guidelines : profiles : model

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Level 3 Project Road Trip You now have the chance to combine everything you have learned on the course in one project!

Brief You work for the Human Resources Department of a global catering company. You are going to plan a team-building road trip for a group of four executives across an English-speaking country (eg. UK, Jamaica, USA, South Africa, Australia). You will be assigned a country by your teacher. Your grade will depend on how well you have integrated what you have learnt on the course (e.g. gastronomy, transport, making money / budgeting, storytelling / use of past tenses, giving advice, report writing, presentation skills, and anything else from the course that is used appropriately) and will be based on two activities: a report and a presentation, both addressed to the CEO of your company.

Not to be disclosed to executives: There is a project coming up which requires 4 executives to work together closely without conflict. The road trip is not only about team building, but is also part of a selection process for this project. The project is important and the management do not want any problems due to personality differences. Your role in the Human Resources (HR) department is not only to plan and present a road trip but also to select and justify the right candidates for the project. The aim of the road trip is to improve how the candidates work together in preparation for the project. There are eight candidates below that have been short-listed, and who together have the right skill set. You must select four. Content You should organize your report and presentation into the sections described below. You should refer to the project model provided. There is one at the end of this document and one here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OWVSKasDCNGBA_rSsq9e15tIStio4eYhSnBDMZkV16A/edit?usp=sharing

1. Plan Place: You must justify the regions, towns and tourist attractions you have chosen for the executives to visit. • •

Why the place is interesting What there is to do there, and why you have selected these specific activities for the executives.

Itinerary: Total length of stay; length of time in each place, etc.

2. Participants There are eight executives to choose from, but you will plan the road trip for a group of just four of them. • • •

You will have the personality profiles of all eight, along with their skills, abilities, and weaknesses. Based on these profiles, you must select the right people for the road trip. You must justify the ones you have selected and explain why you have not selected the others.

NB. Reviewing the People and Behaviour module will help you to prepare for this section.

3. Transport You must explore different options of transport, and justify your choice of one or more of them. You must compare different forms of transport according to strengths and weaknesses using the following criteria: • • •

Cost Length of journeys (set off and arrival times etc.) Advantages and disadvantages of the chosen forms of transport.

You must give specific details. NB. Reviewing the Getting Around module will help you to prepare for this section.

4. Gastronomy Plan a road trip through at least three different regions of a country. • • •

You will need to present a different dish from each region. You will need to describe the dishes in detail. Describe the main ingredients and how they are cooked.

NB. Reviewing the Gastronomy module will help you to prepare for this section.

5. Budget You will have to prepare a budget and justify it to the CEO. You will need to include the following costs: •

Transport.

• • •

Hotels and accommodation. Cost of activities (tours etc.) Food and restaurants (costs of typical dishes from specific regions etc.)

You will not be graded on your budgeting skills. Your language skills are the important thing here. NB. Reviewing the Making Money module will help you to prepare for this section.

6. Intercultural relations • •

Recommendations: what executives should, must, shouldn’t mustn’t do etc. To what extent are local stereotypes true, if at all.

NB. Reviewing the Relationships module will help you to prepare for this section.

7. Post-task reflection (presentation only) Speak for one minute about the task. Include: • •

What was the most difficult part of the project and how you resolved the issue. What you learnt from the project.

NB: Reviewing the Storytelling module will help you to prepare for this section.

Profiles: participant selection process Problem The company has had many problems with conflict among its employees. Although the company has many highly skilled employees there have been numerous problems and disputes due to personality differences. As a result, one project was cancelled, some projects were delayed, and some employees have even been fired. The company is keen to put a stop to this problem and has decided to invest in a number of different team building initiatives. One of these initiatives is an annual road trip. Not to be disclosed to employees: There is a project coming up which requires 4 executives to work together closely without conflict. The road trip is not only about team building, but is also part of a selection process for this project. The project is important and the management do not want any problems due to personality differences. Your role in the Human Resources (HR) department is not only to plan and present a road trip but also to select and justify the right candidates for the project. The aim of the road trip is to improve how the candidates work together in preparation for the project. There are eight candidates below who together have the right skill set. You must select four. Within the group of four, the following skills will be needed: computer skills; decision-making skills; analytical ability; all-rounder. Profiles Janet Castro (IT expert) Janet hasn’t been at the company long and is still in training. She gets on well with Dana and Clara, but recently fell out with Michael. Strengths: reliable and hardworking, Weaknesses: inexperienced. Erik Foster (Economist / analyst) Erik has been at the company for a long time and has been involved in a number of successful projects. Normally works well with Clara, although they recently had an argument. Strengths: good with numbers, organised, and plans everything. Weaknesses: inflexible. Pedro Ramirez (Manager) Pedro has been at the company for three years. Pedro is a close friend of Clara, and he used to go out with Dana, but they recently had an argument and broke up. Strengths: charming, conscientious, team player, and a good motivator. Weaknesses: at times lazy and unreliable.

Dana Stirling (Psychologist) Dana has been at the company for five years. She doesn’t get on well with David, and she used to go out with Pedro, but they recently broke up. Strengths: team player, multi-lingual, good decision maker, conscientious, and a good motivator. Weaknesses: bad with numbers, untidy, and can be disorganised. David Clark (economist / analyst) David has been at the company for four years. He did not work well with Dana in a recent project, and blames her for the project not working well. Strengths: clever, good with numbers, organised, and reliable. Weaknesses: moody, tight-fisted, doesn’t work well in a team, and resistant to change. Clara Moreno (IT expert) Clara has been at the company for a long time and has an excellent record. Strengths: very technical, incredibly efficient, and good at fixing things. Weaknesses: known to be cheeky. Recent warning after dispute with CEO

Carl Fromp (Psychologist) One of the longest serving employees. Carl has shown motivational problems recently, and is rumoured to be looking to retire. Strengths: good decision maker, conscientious, team player, very clever, and good with numbers. Weaknesses: recent motivational problems. Michael Rangel (Manager) Michael has been at the company for two years, consistently produces good work, but has had numerous minor conflicts. Strengths: clever, sensible, reliable, and very hardworking. Weaknesses: bossy, not always easy to get on well with, can be moody, and known to be stubborn. •

Your choice should include a good mix of employees who have personality characteristics and skills that complement each other’s weaknesses.

ROAD TRIP REPORT: COLOMBIA Section 1: Plan Six-day road trip. Two days at each of the following locations: 1. Villa de Leyva (Boyaca) • A beautiful colonial town of historical importance. • Executives will tour the colonial town of Villa de Leyva. • People / culture / stereotypes: Boyacenses are considered peaceful, kind and helpful. Schedule: executives will set off from Bogota at 8am on the 2nd of July, and arrive in Villa de Leyva at 12pm. 2. Medellin • It was voted the most innovative city in the world in 2013. • Executives will take the famous monorail ride around the city and learn about its history. • Executives will take part in a cookery competition against each other. • People / culture / stereotypes: Paisas are considered friendly, patriotic, and proud. Schedule: executives will set off at 8am on the 4th of July from Villa de Leyva, and arrive in Medellin at about 6pm. 3. Barichara - Santander. • It is located in the central northern part of the country, and borders the Magdalena river to the east. • Executives will go rafting and parachuting. • People / culture / stereotypes: the people from Santander are considered hardworking, direct, determined and helpful. Schedule: executives will set off at 8am on the 6th of July from Villa de Leyva, and arrive in Medellin at about 6pm.

Section 2: Participants 1. Michael Rangel (Manager) Michael was chosen because of his positive attitude and leadership skills. He is likely to take a leadership role, but management wants him to be more relaxed, less bossy, and to be able to work with the ideas of others more. Michael, like Pedro, is an all-rounder, but was chosen instead of Pedro because he is more reliable. Michael is likely to be more enthusiastic about the road trip than Pedro, and lead by example.

2. Dana Stirling (Psychologist) In case there are any arguments during the road trip, Dana was chosen for her ability to resolve conflict and to motivate. Dana was chosen instead of Carl because Carl has shown recent motivational problems that have affected his performance. 3. Erik Foster (Economist / analyst) Erik will be very useful when it comes to planning. However, management is keen for him to be open to other people’s ideas. Erik was chosen instead of David because of David’s limitations when working in a team. David’s recent fall out with Clara was also a factor. 4. Clara Moreno (IT expert) Clara can deal with unexpected situations and her ability at fixing things will come in useful. Management would like her to be more respectful of her colleagues and authority. Clara was chosen instead of Janet because of Janet’s inexperience. Both have had arguments with other executives, and although Clara has had problems with the CEO, Janet also had a recent argument with Michael, who is expected to take a leadership role in the group, and this was another factor in selecting Clara.

Section 3: Transport All the costs below are in $ (USD). Two different forms of transport were considered: • Car hire • Coach Car hire • Bogota – Boyaca (Villa de Leyva). Allowing for traffic jams, the journey takes about 3 hours. • Villa de Leyva - Medellin. It takes about 6 hours 30 minutes. • Medellin – Santander (Barichara). It takes about 7 hours. • Barichara – Bogota. It takes about 5 hours 30 minutes Cost of car hire per day: $50 (6 days) / overall cost: $300 Estimated overall cost of petrol / gas: 4 tanks of petrol - $100 Coach • Bogota – Villa de Leyva. Cost of ticket $10 per person. Allowing for traffic jams, the journey takes about 4 hours. • Villa de Leyva – Medellin. Cost of ticket $20. It takes over 7 hours. • Medellin – Barichara. Cost of ticket $25. It takes about 8 hours • Barichara – Bogota. Cost of ticket $25. Overall cost $100. It takes over 6 hours. Local transport: $60

Price comparison: Overall cost of coach: $380 Overall cost of car hire: $400 Time comparison: Total journey time by coach: about 25 hours. Total journey time by car: about 22 hours. Decision: Car hire Coach is slightly cheaper than Car hire, but car hire would be more comfortable and faster than the coach.

Section 4: Gastronomy Regional dishes •

Medellin: Bandeja paisa. Beans cooked with pork, boiled rice, minced meat, sausage, potato, plantain, avocado and served with a fried egg.

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Boyaca: Ajiaco. A soup made out of chicken, potatoes, capers, and cream.

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Santander: Sun dried meat (Carne oreada), a delicious meat dish which is cured with lime, salt, and beer, and then put to dry under the hot sun for several days.

In each destination, executives will meet well-known chefs from the region who will show them how to make the above dishes. Executives will then work together to make each dish.

Section 5: Accommodation / tours Note: Executives will spend two days in each location. Antioquia (Medellin) Accommodation: • (Air BNB) House $100 a night: two nights: $200 total. Get in touch with Ricardo: 077808999 Tours: • Cable car/Monorail. price of a ticket: $2 a person; $8 total cost (it takes about 3 hours). Boyaca (Villa de Leyva) Accommodation: • Hotel Vista Linda: $15 a person; $120 total cost.

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Tours: Muísca Astronomical observatory (about 2 hours) Ostrich Zoo (1 hour)

Santander (Barichara) Accommodation: • Colonial Hotel: $20 a person; $160 total cost for two nights. Tours: • Trekking and rafting: $30 a person; $120 total cost. It takes about a day. • Parachuting. $40 a person; $160. It takes about 4 hours

Section 6: Overall Budget Transport: $400 Hotels: $500 Tours / activities: $380 Food: $1000 Other (contingency): $1000 Total (everyone): $3,280 (USD)