While there have been many developments and advancements in the education sector, the use of S.T.E.A.M Action allows for the support and encouragement for the development of future leaders. The organization’s main mission is to develop future business leaders who are equipped for the S.T.E.A.M (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) workforce. This would be done through the ensuring that every student from elementary through graduate school receives the hand-on experience to compliment what they are being taught in class. This particular product is aimed at making the transition to cyber-learning easy and fun. This paper serves to give an overall explanation of S.T.E.A.M Action and explain the key elements of the product which will allow for its usefulness.
The rapidly growing S.T.E.A.M workforce has opened up new markets for after school programs that are aimed at addressing the challenges and opportunities that students face in S.T.E.A.M education as well as those that anticipate new structures such as cyber-learning. Despite the enormous amount of after school services available in the tri-county of Florida, the demand for organizations such as S.T.E.A.M Action that are equipped to provide opportunities for practical training is ever growing (Clark, 4). S.T.E.A.M Action will partner with a diverse group of business consultants from different industries who will support the organization in various ways to ensure skill development among the students. Operations for the organization are expected to commence in November 2014 with 5 projects having already been secured. The first project will be a toy drive to support the Future Business Leaders of America while the other four will commence in April 2014. 3 homeschools, a private school and livechurch.tv have already committed to collaborate with the organization. Financially, S.T.E.A.M Action shows a positive net income from the income obtained from membership fees. Revenue forecasts show estimated revenue of $360000 in the first year of operation with the potential of growing to $18million by the 5th year of operation. Initial investments are low as support would be obtained from graduate students who are forming a project management group to offer support to the organization (Annachino, 3).
Succession planning is the process of finding and nurturing people within the organization that possess the potential to fill key positions within the organization (Rothwell, 3). Succession plans are important in that they ensure the success of the business/organization and also the legacy continuation. To ensure the continuous success of the project, the continuous motivation of the key staff and graduate volunteers, trainings and feedback from the students and parents will be key in the succession plans of the project. All these strategies would be used to ensure the continuous offering of the best services and the overall success of the project (Berke, 5). The carrying out of trainings and the continuous feedback from the students and the parents would ultimately lead to the creation of an effective and sustainable platform that would enable the project to move forward with a solid management team. A solid management team would go a long way in assuring the success of the project activities and remove any doubts with regards to succession in the project.
Feedback from the students and parents (key stakeholders of the project) would be obtained at all times in the entire course of the project. Feedback would be obtained at the commencement, during and at the end of each project activity to ensure that the mistakes that are identified are rectified and the process is improved for the better to ensure its success. Since the students are the main beneficiaries of the project, their feedback with regards to the various project would be highly valuable. The parents are also part and parcel of the project as decisions made by the project management mainly affect their children. The employees and the volunteers to the project would also be subjected to training that would cover different aspects as highlighted by the feedback of the parents and students. These training would ensure that the project staff possesses the necessary skills for management and the successful execution of the project activities. It would also be a way of motivating the staff. Succession planning would offer stability to all project stakeholders and would also ensure the protection and preservation of the project staff (Artwood, 4). The succession plans offer excellent means of addressing pressing challenges like growth of the project. If successfully implemented, the succession plan would create a long lasting legacy for the project and literally save the project from crisis (Rothwell, 7).
Works Cited
Annacchino, Marc A. The Pursuit of New Product Development: The Business Development Process. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007. Internet resource.
Atwood, Christee G. Succession Planning Basics. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press, 2007. Print.
Berke, David. Succession Planning and Management: A Guide to Organizational Systems and Practices. Greensboro, N.C: Center for Creative Leadership, 2005. Print.
Clark, Kim B. The Product Development Challenge: Competing Through Speed, Quality, and Creativity. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press, 2007. Print.
Rothwell, William J. Effective Succession Planning: Ensuring Leadership Continuity and Building Talent from Within. New York: AMACOM, 2010. Internet resource.
