| Course | MHRM 6701 Strategic Positioning and Social Change |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 8 |
| Paper type | Board memo |
| Length | About 560 words, 4 pages |
| Format | Memo, APA 7 citations |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | MS in Human Resource Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MHRM 6701 Week 8
Memorandum
To: Board of Directors, Allerton Linen Services
From: Director of Human Resources
Date: April 20, 2026
Re: Approval of a two-year county-referred hiring pilot at Cheektowaga
The Request
I ask the board to approve a two-year pilot in which the Cheektowaga plant hires up to twelve overnight operators a year through referrals from the county reentry office, adding roughly $38,000 annually to normal hiring costs. The pilot would be reviewed by the board after each year against measures set now.
Two Cases, in Parallel
Table 1
The Pilot's Two Cases
| | Staffing case | Social case | | |
|---|---|---|
| Problem | A third of the overnight crew comes from an agency; direct-hire turnover is about 70 percent a year | Residents leaving jail struggle to get interviews | |
| What the pilot does | Supplies motivated candidates with a job coach for their first 90 days | Guarantees qualified referred residents an interview and a fair chance at a steady job | |
| Evidence | People with records performed no worse in a large study of military enlistees (Lundquist et al., 2018) | Work reduced reoffending for older participants in a national experiment (Uggen, 2000); results elsewhere are mixed | |
| Measure at one year | Retention of referred hires against other overnight hires; agency hours replaced; on-time delivery | Share of hires in paid work at twelve months; rearrest compared with referred residents not hired | |
| Would fail if | Referred hires leave as fast as other hires and agency hours do not fall | Fewer than 60 percent are working at twelve months, or rearrest is no lower | |
Composite organization.
Cost
The $38,000 a year covers training premiums for two experienced operators who will onboard referred hires, supervisor time for coaching and a share of HR's time for reporting. The reentry office pays for the job coach. If referred hires replace agency workers as planned, each one saves about $12,000 a year in agency markup, so the pilot pays for itself if four referred hires stay a full year.
The Risk a Director Will Raise
The risk most directors will raise is a safety or theft incident involving a referred hire, and what it would mean for our reputation with hospital clients. I take that risk seriously. Three safeguards limit it. The pilot covers plant positions only; referred hires will not drive or enter hospitals. The reentry office screens referrals and will not refer residents with convictions for violent offenses within the past five years, a standard agreed with our insurer. Each hospital client will be told about the pilot in writing before it begins, with the plant-only limit explained. No hiring practice eliminates risk; the plant's current reliance on agency workers whom we do not screen ourselves carries its own.
Why Now
The agency contract comes up for renewal on July 1. Starting the pilot before then lets the board judge its first results against a full year of agency use, and lets us reduce the renewed contract by the number of positions the pilot fills rather than committing to the current level for another year.
What I Ask the Board to Decide
Approve the two-year pilot as described, with a review after year one against the measures in the table. Porter and Kramer (2011) describe value created when a company solves a social problem that also limits its own performance; this pilot will show whether that is true for us.
References
Lundquist, J. H., Pager, D., & Strader, E. (2018). Does a criminal past predict worker performance? Evidence from one of America's largest employers. Social Forces, 96(3), 1039-1068. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sox092
Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2011). Creating shared value. Harvard Business Review, 89(1/2), 62-77.
Uggen, C. (2000). Work as a turning point in the life course of criminals: A duration model of age, employment, and recidivism. American Sociological Review, 65(4), 529-546. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657381
Reading the MHRM 6701 Week 8 instructions
For Week 8 you put the proposal before a board, in a memo short enough that directors finish it. Put the request, its scope and its cost in the first sentence. Present the business and social cases with equal structure, so neither looks like decoration for the other, and give each a measure and a failure condition. Show how the cost compares with the expected benefit. Raise the risk directors are most likely to raise before they do, and explain your safeguards honestly. Explain the timing. End by stating exactly what you are asking the board to decide. One page of argument, supported by a single comparison table, matches how most boards read.
How this MHRM 6701 Week 8 example is built
The memo opens with the request for a two-year pilot of up to twelve hires a year at about $38,000 annually. A table compares the staffing and social cases on problem, action, evidence, one-year measure and failure condition. A cost section explains what the money covers and shows breakeven at four replaced agency positions. A risk section addresses a possible safety or theft incident with three safeguards: plant-only positions, a screening standard agreed with the insurer and advance notice to clients. Short sections explain the July contract timing and state the decision requested, citing Porter and Kramer. The safeguards in the risk section are concrete enough that a director could check each one, rather than general assurances about careful screening.
MHRM 6701 Week 8 rubric: what earns full marks
Board memos are graded on clarity, balance and candor. A request in the first sentence respects directors' time. Parallel treatment of business and social cases, each with a measure and a failure condition, is weighted heavily. Cost compared with benefit shows financial discipline. Raising the hardest risk proactively, with concrete safeguards, builds trust and earns significant credit. Clear timing gives the board a reason to decide now. The memo should end with a precise decision request. Memos that bury the request, present only benefits or avoid the obvious risk receive lower marks. A calm, factual tone on the risk is more persuasive than reassurance.
Common MHRM 6701 Week 8 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Write your request in one sentence that includes what, where, how long and how much. Then make a two-column comparison of your business case and your social case, with a measure and a failure condition for each. Work out the point at which the proposal pays for itself. Ask yourself what a skeptical director would say first, and write a direct answer with safeguards. Explain why the decision is needed now. Finally, state the exact decision you want. Many board memos save the request for the last paragraph. If you are preparing a memo for a board or senior team, send us your first page. Keep the whole memo to about two pages.
Get a MHRM 6701 Week 8 example written to your instructions
Bring the board memo prompt and rubric, with any budget ceiling your scenario sets and the earlier weekly work the memo condenses. One page with parallel cases, a risk box and a review date follows in 24 to 48 hours, first request free. Its east plant, its board and its $85,000 figure are illustrative and belong to no real company.
More MHRM 6701 papers and MS in Human Resource Management samples
- MHRM 6701 Week 1: Strategy Statement Discussion Post
- MHRM 6701 Week 2: Overnight Staffing Direction Memo
- MHRM 6701 Week 3: Reentry Hiring Stakeholder Analysis
- MHRM 6701 Week 4: Shared Value Position Paper
- MHRM 6701 Week 5: Social Claim Evidence Brief
- MHRM 6701 Week 6: Hidden Costs Peer Replies
- MHRM 6701 Week 7: Testable Social Change Claim
- MHRM 6701 Week 9: Departure Counting Objection Memo
- MHRM 6701 Week 10: Hospital Laundry Outsourcing Case
- MHRM 6701 Week 11: Strategy and Social Change Paper
- MHRM 6601 Week 8: Compensation Cost Memo
- MHRM 6101 Week 8: Selection Ethics Memo
MHRM 6701 Week 8 questions, answered
Where can I find a free MHRM 6701 Week 8 sample paper?
The whole board memo is reproduced below, free.
What does the MHRM 6701 Week 8 memo ask the board to approve?
A two-year pilot of county-referred hiring at one plant, costing about $38,000 a year.
How are the two cases presented?
Side by side in one table, each with a problem, evidence, a measure and a failure condition.
When does the pilot pay for itself?
If four referred hires replace agency workers for a full year.
What risk does the memo raise before directors do?
A safety or theft incident involving a referred hire, and its effect on hospital clients.