Team toolkit

Subject: MGT 310 service learning team — [Team name] for [project code]

Dear [Name],

We are a team of [N] students in Dr. Thomas Norman's MGT 310 Management Theory course at CSUDH, and we have been matched with [organization] for the [project code: title] project. Our goal is to help you answer one management question and leave you with recommendations you can use by mid-December.

Could we schedule a 30-minute conversation in the next week to confirm the question and the scope? We are available [three options]. We can meet in person, on Zoom, or by phone.

Our team contact is [name, CSUDH email, phone]. Dr. Norman is copied here and will stay copied on scheduling.

Thank you for working with us.

[Names]

• The management question in one sentence, in the client's words.
• What we will do: observations (when, where), interviews (who, how many), documents we will review.
• What we will deliver: an 8–10 page report, a 1-page executive summary, and a 7-minute presentation, by Dec 13.
• What we will not do (keeps the project honest and finishable).
• Confidentiality: what we may and may not share or name.
• Check-in cadence: one short update every two weeks.

1. Client and contact (8 pts with #2): who they are, what they do, who you are working with.
2. The management question: one sentence, plus why it matters to the client now.
3. Frameworks (8 pts): which course tools you will use and how (e.g., "SWOT to sort what is inside vs. outside the client's control; the DART quadrants to locate where talent is leaking").
4. Data sources: observation, interviews, documents. Name them.
5. Timeline and roles (4 pts): who does what by when, including the Nov 8, Nov 22, and Nov 29 milestones.

1. Two minutes: what we did since last time.
2. Ten minutes: what we found (show, don't tell: a chart, a quote, a number).
3. Ten minutes: the decision we need from the client.
4. Five minutes: next steps, owners, dates.
5. Three minutes: anything we are missing?

A shared Google Sheet with these four columns is enough. Each member needs 15+ hours by Dec 13.

1. Walk me through a typical day/week. Where does time go?
2. What is working well that you would not want to lose?
3. Where do things get stuck, slow, or repeated?
4. If you could change one thing about how this runs, what would it be?
5. What would "success" look like six months from now?
6. Who else should we talk to?

• Which of the Five Functions does the problem live in? Planning, organizing, leading, controlling, or staffing?
• Which DART quadrant is leaking? Direct & Deploy, Attract & Assess, Reward & Retain, Teach & Transform?
• Is it the worker or the system? (Chapter 2) What evidence says so?
• Did you generate three real alternatives before choosing? (Chapter 4)
• Does every claim have a source: an observation, an interview, a document, or a number?

1. 0:00 The client and the question (one slide).
2. 1:00 What we did: method in 30 seconds.
3. 1:30 What we found: three findings, each with evidence.
4. 4:00 What they should do: recommendations with owner, cost, timing.
5. 6:00 Limits and what we would do next.
6. 6:30 Thank the client. Stop at 7:00.

Rate each teammate 1–5 on: showed up prepared; did their share on time; quality of work; communication with the team and client; helped others. Add one sentence of evidence per person. Scores inform the Teamwork criterion.