For this signature assignment, assume the role of a member of the strategic planning team following the merger (horizontal integration) of two companies of your choice that were used in this course.

Instructions

Assignment Overview

For this signature assignment, assume the role of a member of the strategic planning team following the merger (horizontal integration) of two companies of your choice that were used in this course. The purpose of the merger is to broaden the scope and increase global market accessibility. As a member of the strategic planning team, your first task is to produce a draft recruitment plan to fill three additional strategic management positions, incorporating artificial intelligence tools and methods throughout the planning and selection process as assistance tools.

Deliverable

A 12–15-page strategic plan (excluding title and reference pages) that addresses the items below and documents how AI was used at each stage. Include appropriate tables, charts, and an appendix listing the AI prompts and outputs you used. Cite a minimum of four scholarly resources.

Core Framing Questions

• Where are you now?
• Where do you want to be?
• How do you get there?

Use course concepts and apply creative inferences where data is unavailable. Document assumptions explicitly.

Required Content and AI Integration

1. Company Profile and Offerings
• Describe the merged company’s products or services.
• Provide company background, current headcount, locations, and primary organizational culture.
• AI Integration: Use an AI tool of your choice to synthesize public company descriptions, produce a concise company profile draft, and generate a summary. Include the AI prompt and resulting output in the appendix.
2. Challenges to Candidate Selection
• Discuss structural, cultural, regulatory, geographic, and talent-market limitations that could hinder the selection of qualified candidates.
• AI Integration: Run an AI-assisted risk scan to identify likely barriers across regions and functions; summarize findings and cite AI outputs.
3. Assess Employee Engagement After Merger
• Analyze how the merger may affect engagement and retention.
• Propose strategies to sustain engagement during integration.
• AI Integration: Use AI to model likely employee sentiment topics from hypothetical internal survey data and generate prioritized engagement interventions. Include sample prompts and model responses.
4. S.W.O.T. Applied to Talent Selection
• Complete a S.W.O.T. analysis focused on strategic leadership needs.
• Explain how S.W.O.T. findings guide the selection of the three new members of the management team.
• AI Integration: Have AI generate a draft S.W.O.T. from your company profile and then refine it with your judgment. Include both drafts.
5. Selection Criteria and Role Rationale
• Define selection criteria and behavioral, technical, and strategic competencies for each of the three roles.
• AI Integration: Use AI to produce competency-based interview questions, scoring rubrics, and sample assessment exercises. Include these artifacts in your appendix.
6. Implementation Plan and Metrics
• Provide a phased implementation schedule and success metrics for recruitment and early performance.
• AI Integration: Present AI-generated forecasts for hiring timelines and justify adjustments based on your expertise.
7. Ethical, Legal, and Bias Mitigation Statement
• Explain privacy, fairness, and compliance considerations when using AI in recruitment across jurisdictions.
• AI Integration: Include a short audit checklist created with AI for ongoing bias and compliance monitoring.
8. Bias Minimization Declaration
• End the report with a clear statement listing the specific steps you took to minimize personal bias in producing the report and in using AI tools.

Appendix Requirements

Include all AI prompts and raw/edited AI outputs used to generate profiles, S.W.O.T., questions, rubrics, dashboards, and forecasts.

Provide a brief note on which AI tool(s) were used and the human review steps applied to each output.

Assessment Guidance

• Write a 12–15-page strategic plan (excluding the title page, references, and appendix).
• Demonstrate rigorous use of course concepts and thoughtful AI integration with documented human oversight.
• Meet academic standards with at least four scholarly references and appropriate in-text citations, in addition to your AI citations.

Requirements 

Length: This assignment must be 12-15 pages (excluding the title and reference page). 

References: Include at least 4 scholarly resources.