My capstone topic is: ”Creating Pathways for International Students to Gain Employment Opportunities in Pinellas County through Optional Practical Training (OPT).”Based on the topic, Please write: (this is from International Student View Point, trying to propose this project to Pinellas County)– Private / Public Comparison (hiring international student with OPT)– Marketing Plan – Collaborative Parnetship Plan– Cost / Benefit AnalysisHere’s more detail about each one.– Private / Public Comparison: Think about how you will get out the information that you so diligently put together for your project. Research the most appropriate type of Marketing Plan that fits your project. Remember that within government, communication is often lacking, and as a result people mistrust what is being disseminated. Therefore, include all of your stakeholders as you deliver your Marketing Plan proposal, and be open to their ideas. Buy-in from the majority of your stakeholders will help enhance your Capstone Project’s success.– Marketing Plan: Government is constantly being tasked with doing more with less, and in some instances less with less. They are always in competition with private industry and are often asked to compare services to see who is more efficient and more effective. Given that the two have different ideologies as to their reason for being, this can be a difficult comparison. At times it is like a “marble cake” where both are working together on a respective discipline. Technology is a great example. With the rapid changes in this field it is not unusual for government to “contract out” to private firms to accomplish their goals at hand, and work together.
For the Public/Private Comparison you will want to determine how your Case Study fits by addressing questions like:
- Does government complete the project, or do we ask private to do the same?
- How would this look?
- How much would this cost?
- What is the motivation?
- What are the goals and objectives?
– Collaborative Partnership Plan: The Collaborative Partnership Plan requires you to consider each of the stakeholders involved in your Capstone Project, and to think through how the dynamics of their interaction can be anticipated. It is very similar to what you have done earlier in this program for your 4-step policy analysis, where you chart out the stakeholders and their perspectives on the issue. You recall Miles Law states, “Where one stands, depends upon where one sits.”
Since your stakeholders may come from the public and private sector, this task should not be taken lightly. Taking the time to forecast how all of these folks will interact on the issue or “play nice in the sandbox,” can save you a myriad of issues.
Think of this as similar to a Myers Briggs Personality test where you learn how the different personalities can best interact together. For this assignment, it is not limited to personalities, but includes a host of things such as timing, tolerance, politics, power, personal and professional ideologies, the WIIFM (what’s in it for me), and the art of negotiation. This assignment, if done correctly, should provide some meaningful insight into how best to make this Collaborative Partnership Plan successful.
– Cost / Benefit Analysis: Since the recession, the Cost/Benefit Analysis has now become an integral part of any policy assignment. The basic questions are: What is this going to cost us? and How will this benefit us if we put the resources in? On the other side of the coin, it will also tell you what it will cost you if you don’t provide the resources, and those costs could be both quantitative (data driven) and qualitative (how one feels driven).
A good Cost/Benefit Analysis is essential to determining the feasibility of your project – the making of your decision. It is defined as, “a technique designed to measure relative gains and losses resulting from alternative policy or program options; emphasizes identification of the most desirable cost-benefit ration, in quantitative or other terms” (Milakovich & Gordon, 2007).
The analysis and methodology must be comprehensive, with precise evaluation procedures, quantification of measures and relative values, and appropriate use of statistics – which may not always be readily available. The test of a good decision is that “it can be shown to be the most appropriate means to achieving desired ends” (Milakovich & Gordon, 2007). Cost/Benefit Analysis plays a major role in your decision-making. Take the time to do this right.