******THIS ASSIGNMENT HAS 2 PARTS. PLEASE BE CAREFUL READING AND FOLLOW ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS. REMEMBER IN-TEXT CITATIONS, REFERENCES FROM TRUSTED SITES. NOT PLAGIARISM. DO NOT FORGET TO SEPARATE BOTH PARTS BY HEADINGS AND EAH PART SEPARATE IT AS WELL BY SUB-HEADINGS TO UNDERSTAND BETTER.*****

PART I: Michele needs your help with the current compensation and benefits plan for Lollipop Company, Inc. She expects you to use your evaluation skills, combined with or built upon your knowledge, application, and/or analysis skills, to help solve her dilemma. Michele feels the current plan is fair but several employees have complained it’s not enough. Her current employee status is as follows:

• 1 CEO with a base salary of $150,000 and benefits that equal 40% of the salary
• 3 additional executives (senior management) with a combined base salary of $300,000 and each receives benefits that equal 35% of the salary
• 6 middle management personnel with a combined base salary of $420,000 and each receives benefits that equal 30% of the salary
• 10 first-line supervisors with a combined base salary of $500,000 and each receives benefits that equal 25% of the salary
• 150 non-supervisory employees with a combined base salary of $4,500,000 with an average individual salary of $30,000 and each receives benefits that equal 25% of the salary

For this project assignment on Lollipop Company, Inc. complete a minimum *****3-pages **** business professional report selecting and organizing expert information that is useful for a CEO and addresses the following concepts:

• Visit the Rasmussen online Library and search for a minimum of 4 articles covering the topics of FMLA and workplace safety. Conduct academic research using the library’s databases, like:
  • Discovery
  • ASP: Human Resource Management Online
  • Business Source Complete via EBSCO
  • Business via ProQuest
• How would market research provide information about compensation and benefits when designing a compensation and benefits plan? How should Michele use this market research for her own plan?
• How does Michele achieve a balance between financial and non-financial compensation and benefits?
• What type(s) of primary and secondary research would you recommend Michele conduct? What are the benefits? Explain.
• Remember to integrate citations accurately and appropriately for all resource types; use attribution (credit) as a method to avoid plagiarism. Use NoodleTools to document your sources and to complete your APA formatted reference page and in-text citations.

PART II: Michele has identified a mid-level manager as someone to go through a training and development program for senior management. She gives you the task of training this person; however, after reviewing the employee’s current skills against senior management skills, you notice a considerable skills gap. Michele is quite stern that this person goes through the training and development program.

For this project assignment on Lollipop Company, Inc. complete a minimum of a 3-page business professional training proposal that addresses the following concepts:

• Describe the purpose of the training specific to this situation.
• How would a needs analysis solve the problem you face with a skills gap?
• Discuss the key elements of an effective training program for mid-level managers to become senior level managers.
• What may be some opposing or other perspectives regarding the training?
• Explain the best approach to help the manager develop the needed skills for this career path. Provide an argument as to why this is the best approach in spite of some of the other perspectives.
• Remember that this is a proposal and you are the consultant. Make sure to format your document appropriately for a proposal. Also, remember that your proposal for training will go to Michele, the owner of the company. Audience specific tone will be important for this document.

Requirements FOR PART I

Lollipop Company, Inc.

• Lollipop Company, Inc. is a small-sized company in the confectionary industry and is based in Minneapolis. The company originally began in 2000 by a single woman, Michele. Fifteen years later, Michele finds herself in need of a larger facility, new machines, more employees, and better compensation and benefits plan. On top of that, she needs to maintain her profit of 30%, but she would ideally like to increase her profit to 35%.
• Lollipop Company, Inc. is in need of a consultant. You have been hired by Michele to come into her business, review her business, and provide her with information on what she should do to reach her goals within the next 12 months:
  • Increase profit by 5% (from 30% to 35%)
  • Move to a facility that has a larger capacity, ideally double the size
  • Purchase new confectionary machines (minimum of 3 machines but up to 7 machines)
  • Hire 5 more employees, including one operations manager
  • Offer a more competitive compensation and benefits plan to employees

Using the information provided for Lollipop Company, Inc., your readings, and your own external research, you complete various project assignments and make recommendations to Michele that will help her obtain her goals.

Throughout your project, you will apply transferable skills. Transferable skills are skills that you develop that can be transferred and applied within your chosen career. They are highly valuable and essential for career success. The transferable skills that you will be applying as you complete your project include: Communication, Information Literacy, Critical Thinking, Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Digital Fluency, and Diversity & Teamwork.
For more information on each of the six transferable skills see the guides below:

• Digital Fluency: http://guides.rasmussen.edu/digitalfluency
• Ethics and Professional Responsibility: http://guides.rasmussen.edu/ethics
• Communication: http://guides.rasmussen.edu/communication
• Diversity and Teamwork: http://guides.rasmussen.edu/diversity
• Information Literacy: http://guides.rasmussen.edu/informationliteracy
• Critical Thinking: http://guides.rasmussen.edu/criticalthinking