EmploymentRecommendation

Report

StephanieBeyer

II

EmploymentRecommendationReport:

English320:Unit2

By:StephanieBeyer

October10,2010

III

ExecutiveSummary

KevinNiccumaBusinessAdministrationstudentatNorthDakotaStateUniversityhaspickedthreecareersthathefeelsheissuitedforaftercollege.TheyarePolarisIndustriesinMedina,MN,AssetAcceptanceinDetroit,MI,andBlueEagleEnterprisesinMinneapolis,MN.Aftermanyinterviews,aquestionnaire,andpersonalresearchIhaveidentified,basedonsomecriteria,thebestjobfitforKevin.ThecriteriaIusedfallintwodifferentcategories,jobcriteriaandlocationcriteria.Thethreejobcriteriawereasmallcompanysize,positiveemployeefeedback,andagoodmissionstatement.Thethreelocationcriteriawere,locatednearalake,asmalltown,andasafetowntoraiseafamilyin.Ofallthesecriteriatheresultsareasfollows.

SmallCompanySize:Assetacceptancewinsforthesmallcompanysize.Althoughitisabove1000itisstillsmallerthenPolarisIndustries.

PositiveEmployeeFeedback:IamgoingtohavetosaythatPolarisIndustrieswinsforthePositiveEmployeeFeedbackbecausetheywereratedhigherthenAssetAcceptance.

GoodMissionStatement:PolarisIndustrieshasabettermissionstatement.ItismorecustomerorientedthenAssetAcceptance.

LocatedNearaLake:Minneapolis,MNhasthemostlakeslocatedinitsarea.Ithaveover16lakes6ofwhicharepartoftheChainofLakes.

SmallTown:Medina,MNhasthesmallestpopulationofjustover4,000peopleinitstownalthoughitislocatednearmajortownsandcitiesinMinnesota.

SafeArea:Medina,MNhasthelowestcrimeriskoutofallthreeoftheareasmakingitthesafestareatoraiseafamilyin.

Overallbasedonthese6criteriaIhavedecidedthatPolarisIndustriesisthebestjobforKevintotake.Ithasthemostpositiveemployeefeedback,ithasthebestmissionstatement,itislocatedinthesmallesttownandisinthesafestarea.Italsohaslakeslocatednearitalthoughitdidnotwinforlocatednearthemostlakes.

IV

TableofContents

ExecutiveSummary…………………………………………………………………………………….………III

ListofFigures……………………………………………………………………………………………….……..V

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………...1

JobOpportunities……………………………………………………………………….………………………..3

Criteria…………………………………………………………………………….….……………………3

Jobs…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3

AssetAcceptance…………………………………………………………………………….3

BlueEagleEnterprises…………………………………………………………………….5

Polaris……………………………………………………………………………………………5

Locations…………………………………………………………………………………………………..6

Detroit……………………………………………………………………………………………6

Minneapolis/St.Paul……………………………………………………………………….8

Medina...……………………………………………………………………………………….12

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………14

Recommendation……………………………………………………………………………………………….14

WorksCited…………………………………………………………………………………………………….…16

V

ListofFigures

Figure1:MapofDetroit,MIandLakeSt.Clair…………………………………………………….…6

Figure2:Detroit,MICrimeRiskvs.UnitedStates…………………………………………………..7

Figure3:Detroit,MICrimeRiskvs.UnitedStates…………………………………………………..8

Figure4:ListofMinneapolisLakes……………………………………………………………………….8

Figure5:ChainofLakesMap………………………………………………………………………………..9

Figure6:Minneapolis,MNCrimeRiskvs.UnitedStates……………………………………….10

Figure7:Minneapolis,MNCrimeRiskvs.UnitedStates…………………………………….....11

Figure8:Minneapolis,MNvs.Detroit,MICrimeRisk………………………………..…………12

Figure9:MapofMedinaMinnesotaandSurroundingLakes……………………...…………12

Figure10:Medina,MNCrimeRate…………………………………………………………….………..13

1

Introduction

FortheEnglish320Unit2projectwewereassignedtowriteanemployment

recommendationreportthatwouldassistourpartnerinchoosingbetweenthree

differentjobsthattheywereinterestedinandfeltqualifiedforoncegraduating

fromNorthDakotaStateUniversity.Iwasassignedtocreatethisrecommendation

reportforyouNiccum,ajuniormajoringinBusinessAdministration.Through

multipleinterviews,aquestionnaire,andsomepersonalresearchIwasabletocome

upwiththeinformationprovidedinthisreport.

AfterthefirstinterviewwithKevin,itwascleartomethathisgreatest

interestinlifeatthemomentwasbeingintheoutdoors.Helovesfishing,

snowmobiling,four‐wheeling,dirtbiking,andanythingelsethatrequireshimtobe

outside.Hisfavoriteplacetobeisbythelake,whichiswhyheworksatLord

FletchersonthedockslocatedonLakeMinnetonka.

Kevinstatedthathisidealjobwouldbetoworkforacompanywherehehad

theopportunitytotestprototypessuchassnowmobiles,andotherpowersport

vehiclesofthesort.Hisidealcompanysizewouldbeamediumtosmallcompany,

becausehefeelsthatalargercompanywouldfeeloverwhelmingandwithasmall

companyhewouldbeabletocreateamorepersonalconnectionwithhisco‐

workers.

Kevin’smainprioritywhenlookingatjobsisthefactthathewouldenjoy

whatheisdoing.Wagescamelastonhislist.Hewantstoworkforacompanythat

hasagoodtrackrecordandisstayingoutoffinancialandlegaltroubles.Kevin

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wouldprefertohaveajobthatisnotabehindthedeskjoballofthetime.Healso

doesnotmindhavingtodoworktravelatthemomentbutwhenhestartsmakinga

familyhewouldprefertostayasclosetohomeaspossible.

LocationisalsonotanissueforKevin,aslongashecanbeclosetothelake.

HestatedthatlivinginNorthDakotawasdifficultforhimbecauseofthelackof

lakesinthearea.HegrewupinMoundMinnesota,anareasurroundedbylakes.

KevinNiccumisahighlymotivatedindividualwholikestogethisworkdone

assoonashecan.Hedoesnotliketoprocrastinateandfindsitdifficulttoliveor

workwithpeoplewhoinhibithisabilitytoworkhard.

3

JobOpportunities

Criteria

AfterconductinganinterviewwithyouandhavingyoucompleteaquestionnaireI

havecreatedalistofcriteriafortheworkplaceandforyourlocation.

Job:

• CompanySize

• GoodEmployeeFeedback

• PositiveCompanyMission

Location:

• Locatednearlakes

• SmallerCommunity

• LowCrimeRate

Jobs

AssetAcceptance–Detroit,Michigan

Assetacceptanceisapubliclyownedcompanythatcollects defaulted and

charged-off accounts receivable portfolios from credit companies. The position that you

applied for is the Data Administration – Team Lead. According to the job posting on

careerbuilder.com, the Team Lead isresponsibleforpartneringwiththeManagerof

ApplicationandDataSupporttoensurethatalldataadministrationandSQL

databaserequirementsaremet.Thispositionisalsoresponsibleforactingas

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technicalleadandmentorforateamofdatabaseadministrators,ETLandSQL

programmers.In2006AssetAcceptancehadrevenueof$254mil.

CompanySize:

Assetacceptancehasabout1,701fulltimeemployeesworkingattheir

company.

GoodEmployeeFeedback

AccordingtoGlassdoor.comemployeesatisfactionwasrateda3.7outof5.0.

Employeessaidthatthecompanyhadagoodstartinglevelofpay,goodrecognition

forhardwork,andgreatcamaraderiebetweenemployees.Theyalsosaidthatthe

workenvironmentwasveryrelaxedandupbeat.Thedownsidetothecompany,

employeessaid,itwasastressfullineofworkbecauseyouaretryingtocollect

moneyfrompeoplewhofaultedontheircreditcardsorloans.

Company’sMission

Themissionstatementforassetacceptanceisreturningvaluetoourcredit

driveneconomy.Soifyouareapeoplepersonthiscompany’smissiondoesnotline

upwithhelpingtheircustomers.

BlueEagleEnterprises–Minneapolis/St.Paul,Minnesota

BlueEagleEnterprisesisapromotionalmarketingcompany.Thiscompany

doesnotofferalotofinformationaboutthemselves,whichmadeitverydifficultto

lookupinformation

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CompanySize

Iwasunabletolookupthecompany’ssize.

GoodEmployeeFeedback

BlueEagleEnterprisesissaidtobeagoodplacetogetyourfootinthedoor.

Itisagreatexperiencebuilder,andhasalotofdifferententry‐levelpositions.Blue

Eagleisnotacubicletypejob.

Company’sMission

Iwasunabletolocatethecompany’smission.

PolarisIndustries–Medina,Minnesota

CompanySize

PolarisIndustrieshasabout3,000full‐timeemployeesworkingattheir

company,whichiskindofahighernumber.But,PolarisIndustriesalsohasalotof

differentlocations.

GoodEmployeeFeedback

PolarisIndustrieswasrateda3.9overalloutof5.0oncareerbliss.comwhich

isawebsitewhereemployeescanratetheircompany.Manypeoplesaidthatthey

likedtheenvironmentoftheirworkplace,andthattheyhadgreatcareer

advancements.Majorityofthepeoplesaidthatitwasjustanoverallgreatplaceto

work.

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Company’sMission

PolarisIndustries’missionstatementis,Understandtheridingexperience.

Livetheridingexperience.Worktomakeitbetter.Theirmissionstatementgoesto

showthattheywanttounderstandallaspectsoftheirproductandworktomakeit

thebestitcanbe.

Locations

Detroit,Michigan

Locatednearalake

DetroitMichiganislocated

ontheborderofamajorlake,

LakeSt.Clair.LakeSt.Clairis

connectedtotwoofthegreat

lakes,LakeHuron(tothenorth)

andLakeErie(tothesouth),by

theSt.ClairRiver.Thislakeis

greatforfishingWalleye,Muskie,

NorthernPike,Bass,Bluegill,

Sturgeon,Salmon,Trout,and

Steelhead.Thelakeisabout430squaremilesandhasanaveragedepthof11feet

throughoutthelake.Figure1showsamapofDetroitlocatedinthebottomleft

cornerandlakeSt.Clair.

Figure1MapofDetroit,MichiganandLakeSt.Clair

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Smallcommunitysize

Detroit,MichiganisthelargestcityinMichiganwithapopulationofaround

871,121 peopleaccordingtothe2006censuspostedbytheU.S.CensusBureau.The

populationoftheStateofMichiganis10,095,643accordingtotheU.SCensus

Bureau2006.AlthoughDetroit,Michigandoesnotfallinthesmallcommunitysize

thereareplentyofsuburbslocatedaroundDetroit,suchasHighlandPark,Michigan

withapopulationestimatedtobe14,153.HighlandParkislocatedabout11min.

northofDetroit.

Safe

communityto

raiseafamily

Figure2

andFigure3

showsDetroit’s

crimeratevs.the

UnitedStates

averagecrime

rate.Personal

crimerisk

representsrape,

murder,assault,androbbery.Propertycrimeriskrepresentsburglary,larceny,and

motorvehicletheft.

Figure2Detroit,MICrimeRiskvs.UnitedStates

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Figure3Detroit,MICrimeRiskvs.UnitedStates

ClearlyDetroithasamuchhighercrimeriskthenMichigan’saverageandtheUnited

State’saverage.Iwouldnotrecommendraisingafamilyinthisareabasedonthe

crimerate.

Minneapolis,Minnesota

Locatednearalake

ThenameMinneapolisactuallymeanscityoflakes.Sixteenlakesarelocated

intheMinneapolisarea.Figure4showsalistofallthelakes.

Figure4

Birch Pond Lake Nokomis

Brownie Lake Meadowbrook Lake

Lake Calhoun Powderhorn Lake

Crime Statistics Detroit, MI Michigan United States Personal Crime Risk 468 113 100 Murder Risk 774 114 100 Rape Risk 369 168 100 Robbery Risk 565 86 100 Assault Risk 281 120 100 Property Crime Risk 333 93 100 Burglary Risk 273 96 100 Larceny Risk 150 88 100 Motor Vehicle Theft Risk 685 123 100 Total Crime Risk 369 95 100

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Cedar Lake Ryan Lake

Lake Harriet Spring Lake

Lake Hiawatha Sweeney Lake

Lake of the Isles Twin Lake

Loring Pond Wirth Lake

6ofthese16lakesarepartoftheMinneapolis

chainoflakes,whichis

located2andahalf

milessouthwestof

downtown

Minneapolis.Figure

5showsamapof

theselakes.

Figure6

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Smallcommunitysize

Minneapolis,thecapitalofMinnesota,hasapopulationofabout372,833.

AgainlikeDetroitthisisnotasmallpopulation,butMinneapolisislocatednear

manysuburbs.Itisonly30minawayfromyourhometownofMoundMinnesota.It

isonlytwentyminfromPlymouthMinnesota,whichwasrankedthenumberone

bestplacetolivebymoneymagazinein2008.Ithasapopulationofabout70,000so

itisstillalargerpopulationthenpreferred.

Safecommunitytoraiseafamily

Figure6andFigure7showsMinneapolis’crimeratevs.theUnitedStates

averagecrimerate.Personalcrimeriskrepresentsrape,murder,assault,and

robbery.Propertycrimeriskrepresentsburglary,larceny,andmotorvehicletheft.

Crime Statistics Minneapolis, MN 55411

Minnesota United States

Personal Crime Risk 301 60 100 Murder Risk 213 41 100 Rape Risk 392 113 100 Robbery Risk 561 60 100 Assault Risk 234 54 100 Property Crime Risk 272 89 100 Burglary Risk 207 76 100 Larceny Risk 224 99 100 Motor Vehicle Theft Risk 281 63 100 Total Crime Risk 337 85 100

Figure6

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Figure7

AsyoucanseeMinneapolis,likeDetroit,hasahighercrimeratethenthe

UnitedStatesaveragebyquiteabit.Figure8belowshowsMinneapolisvs.Detroitin

crime.Minneapolishasalowercrimeratebutnotbymuch.

Figure8

Crime Statistics Minneapolis, MN 55411

Detroit, MI United States

Personal Crime Risk 301 468 100 Murder Risk 213 774 100 Rape Risk 392 369 100 Robbery Risk 561 565 100 Assault Risk 234 281 100 Property Crime Risk 272 333 100 Burglary Risk 207 273 100 Larceny Risk 224 150 100 Motor Vehicle Theft Risk 281 685 100 Total Crime Risk 337 369 100

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Medina,Minnesota

Locatednearalake:

MedinaMinnesotaislocatedneareightdifferentlakes.LakeArdmore,ThiesLake,Thomaslake,LakeMedina,KatrinaLake,WinterhalterLake,LakeWolsfeld,andHalfmoonLake.Figure9showsamapoftheMedinaareawhereyoucanclearlyseehowclosethelakesaretothetown.

Figure9

Smallcommunitysize:

Asof2000theestimatedpopulationforMedina,Minnesotawas4,005.You

statedduringthequestionnairethatyouwouldliketoliveinatownthatwassmall

butwasalsolocatednearthecitysothathehadtheoptiontogointothecity.

Medinaisonly32min.outsideofMinneapolis,MNandabout16minfrom

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Plymouth,MN.Medinawouldallowforthesmalltownfeelbutwithinshort

distancesfromlargertownsandcities.

Safecommunitytoraiseafamily

Medina,Minnesotaisaverysafetowntoraiseafamilyin.Figure10below

showthecrimeratefrom2001to2008allofwhicharebelowtheUnitedStates

averagebyalot.OutofthethreelocationstoliveinMedina,Minnesotaisthesafest

toliveinandraiseafamily.

Figure10

Crime in Medina by Year

Type 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Murders 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Rapes 0 1 1 1 0 N/A N/A N/A Robberies 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0

Assaults 3 1 1 1 1 5 2 1 Burglaries 13 18 8 19 29 23 25 15

Thefts 39 69 47 70 84 74 86 104 Auto thefts 2 9 3 5 5 5 3 6

Arson 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 320.9)

79.8 147.8 87.9 128.8 128.0 N/A N/A N/A

Conclusion

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Inconclusionallthreecompanies,andallthreelocationshaveapositive

aspecttotheminwhattheycanofferyou.IfyoulookedjustatcompanysizeAsset

Acceptancehasthemostappealingcompanysizebecausetheyareonthesmaller

end,whichiswhatyouwanted.WhenlookingattheemployeefeedbackIwouldsay

thatPolarisIndustrieshadthebestcompanyfeedbackbecausetheirratingwas

higherthentheratingofAssetAcceptance.IfeelthatPolarisIndustrieshasthemost

fittingMissionStatementbecausetheyareallaboutmakingtheirproductbetter.

WithlocationMedina,Minnesotahasthelowestcrimerateoutofthethree

andalsohasthesmallestpopulation,whichwaswhatyouwanted.Iwouldhaveto

saythatMinneapoliswinsforbeinglocatednearalake,althoughDetroitislocated

nearalargerlake.

FinalRecommendation

MyfinalrecommendationistotakethejobatPolarisIndustriesinMedina,

Minnesota.Ifeellikethisjobwillbethebestfitforyoubecauseofmanyreasons.My

firstreasonforthisbeingsuchagoodfitisbecauseoftheinterestyouhaveintheir

products.Throughouttheinterviewyoumadeitobviouslyclearhowmuchyoulove

tobeintheoutdoorsandhowmuchyoulovepowersportvehiclessuchas

snowmobilesandfour‐wheelers.Youalsostatedthatyourdreamjobwouldbeto

testprototypesforacompanylikePolarisIndustries.Evenifthecompanyisalittle

bigforyourlikingIstillfeelthatyouwouldbeabletofindyouknackwithinthe

company.

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Mysecondreasonforthisbeingsuchagreatfitforyouisthelocation.The

othertwolocationsIfeltwerefartoolarge.Medina,Minnesotaisasmallcommunity

thatislocatedrightoutsidemajortownsandcities.Minnesotaisalsoknownfor

beingthe“Landof10,000Lakes”whichmakesfindingalakenearbynotvery

difficult.

Mythirdreasonforchoosingthiscompanyforyouisthepossibilityfor

advancementwithinthiscompany.Havingalargercompanycouldallowforalot

moreadvancementwithinthecompany.Makingthisagoodplacetogetyourfootin

thedoor.

OverallIfeelthatworkingforPolarisIndustriesisthebestoptionforyou.

Basedonthelocationofthecompany,theinterestyouhaveintheirproducts,and

thepossibilityforadvancement.

16

WorkCited

http://www.city­data.com/city/Medina­Minnesota.html

http://www.lakeplace.com/lakefinder/mn/hennepin/ard

more/27015300

http://www.michiganslakes.com/lake_st_clair.html

http://www.clrsearch.com/RSS/Demographics/MI/Detroi

t/Crime_Statistics

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/27/2743000.htm

l

http://plymouthmn.gov/index.aspx?page=360

http://www.city­data.com/city/Medina­Minnesota.html

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maps.google.com

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Asset­Acceptance­

Capital­Reviews­E30129.htm

http://www.careerbliss.com/company­reviews/polaris­

industries­reviews­682436/

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