Capstone Assignment Memo Scenario #1

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July 20, 2020
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July 20, 2020

Capstone Assignment Memo Scenario #1

Scenario Facts:Radiant Semiconductor Corporation is a privately held start-up semiconductor companythat was founded in 2009. Currently at 300 employees, Radiant has quickly grown into a leadingprovider of high-performance radio frequency integrated circuits. Among Radiants leadingproducts are its radio frequency (RF) switches. The companys expertise in RF switch design ishighly valuableand makes it very competitivein the mobile devices market, where networksneed the bandwidth to deliver increasingly rich media content. The rapid changes in mobiledevice networks have demanded exponential growth in RF switch design. Until now, Radiantshigh-performance RF switch and tuning components have met that demand for mobile handsetmanufacturers around the world.Rudy (or Rayann)1 Beltran was a senior design engineer at Radiant from November 2011through June 2014. Upon hire, Beltran signed an employment agreement. The agreementdelineated Beltrans job responsibilities as researching and developing ideas and processes fornew products; improving upon the performance and design of existing products; overseeingproduction and packaging of final products; and any related marketing and customer supportwork that Employer may assign. Along with specifying Beltrans salary and benefits, theagreement contained the following language about employment terms:Term: This agreement is effective November 1, 2011, for a period of three years; however, this agreementmay be terminated earlier by either Employer or Employee by giving two weeks written notice oftermination to the other party.Termination: Upon termination for any reason, all salary shall cease on the effective date of termination.Employer will continue to pay benefits for a period of 180 days after the effective date of termination.Beltrans agreement also included the following nondisclosure and noncompete clauses, but itdid not include any provisions on assignment of inventions:Nondisclosure: Employee agrees not to use or disclose any of Employers Confidential Information for aperiod of three years after termination of employment. Confidential Information includes inventiondescription(s), technical and business information relating to proprietary ideas and inventions, ideas,patentable ideas, trade secrets, drawings and/or illustrations, patent searches, existing and/or contemplatedproducts and services, research and development, production, costs, profit and margin information, financesand financial projections, customers, clients, marketing, and current or future business plans and models,regardless of whether such information is designated as Confidential Information at the time of itsdisclosure.Noncompetition. For a period of twenty-four (24) months immediately following termination ofEmployees employment with the Employer (whether voluntary or involuntary), Employee will not act inany design engineering capacity in any competing business located anywhere in the world.1 Should you choose the Beltran role, please feel free to assume it as Rudy (male) or Rayann (female). Althoughthis scenario uses a male pronoun to refer to Beltran, assume it includes the female if you choose the female role.2During his time at Radiant, Beltrans work spanned a variety of RF-related projects,along with marketing and customer support work. Like many other engineers at Radiant, Beltranused his own tools and equipment in his design work. In 2012, Beltran assumed the lead role ona 5-person team charged with designing advanced integrated circuit technologies (AICT) for usein RF switches. RF switches with this technology can be used to make mobile wireless devicestransmit and receive wireless signals more efficiently and effectively, since the technologyreduces harmonic and intermodulation distortion. Beltran worked on AICT exclusively on siteduring business hours for most of 2012. The results were excellent; Radiant has begunmarketing RF switches with AICT, and Radiants patent for AICT is currently pending.As a grade-schooler, Beltran was diagnosed with Attention Deficit-HyperactivityDisorder, and has been taking ADHD medication ever since. He is diligent about taking hismedication, but certain symptoms persist. The most notable is Beltrans increased sensitivity toauditory and visual distractions. From 2011-2013, these symptoms were manageable becauseBeltran had a private office. But in 2013, Radiant converted to an open office space, one inwhich Beltran and other engineers were seated at a series of long tables. The few remainingprivate offices along the perimeter were distributed among Radiant executives.Beltran struggled to concentrate in the open-office environment. He requested andreceived a noise-cancelling headset, which drowned out office chatter. But the visualdistractions remainedother workers frequent movement, and clutter on the shared table, forexample. Beltrans work began to suffer, most notably in the form of slower output.In March 2014, Beltran received a performance evaluation from his senior engineersupervisor. The supervisor expressed concern with the slowdown in Beltrans work. Beltrandisclosed his ADHD diagnosis and explained that the slowdown was the result of his inability toconcentrate in the open-office environment. He inquired about getting a private, high-wallcubicle to minimize the visual distractions. The supervisor responded that it would be too costlyto construct a special cubicle for Beltran, since the office no longer had any cubicles. Beltranthen asked about being relocated to a private office. The supervisor responded that there were novacant offices; all were taken by executive-level employees. She then told Beltran, I think thisconversation is distracting us from the real issue, which is your ability to complete the designwork on time.Beltran received an overall needs improvement score on his evaluation. He was put ona written 90-day performance plan that specified weekly standards for work output. Theperformance plan made clear that Beltran would be terminated at the conclusion of 90 days if hisoutput did not improve as required by the plan.In June 2014, Beltran was terminated for failing his performance plan requirements. Theday he left Radiant, Beltran took his tools and equipment along with him, but nothing else. InAugust 2014, Beltran began working for Texas Instruments, a Dallas, Texas-based competitor ofRadiant. Beltran told his former co-workers at Radiant that he was going to be working on RFswitch-related projects in TIs mobile products division. He also told them that TI was givinghim a raise, a promotion, and a private office.3In January 2015, Radiants Chief Engineer, a Vice President two levels above Beltran,heard through the grapevine that Texas Instruments was planning to market advanced integratedcircuit technology for RF switches virtually identical to Radiants. In addition, the ChiefEngineer learned that Beltran was leading this marketing effort at TI.Instructions:Assume the role of either Beltran or Radiants Chief Engineer. If you choose the role ofBeltran, prepare a presentation and paper that reflect how you would analyze and explain thisscenarios employment law problems to your supervisor at Texas Instruments. As your newemployer, TI will play a vital role in any litigation between you and Radiant. If you choose theChief Engineer role, prepare a presentation and paper that reflect how you would analyze andexplain this scenarios employment law problems to Radiants CEO in preparation for a meetingwith outside counsel.The presentation and paper together are worth 40% of your course grade: 15% for thepresentation and 25% for the paper.AssessmentPresentationDuring your assigned time slot, you will to deliver a presentation not to exceed 25 minutesincluding time for questions and answers. Please use slides or handouts to help your audiencefollow your presentation and to help me assess it.Your presentation should address the following: What potential employment law problems do you face in your chosen role in thisscenario? Analyze all of these potential problems under the law as weve covered it in class and inthe readings. In your analysis, be sure to address the strengths and weaknesses of yourlegal position in each problem. You need not do any outside research. Identify which problems pose the greatest legal and business risks, and explain whatthose specific risks are. Propose a course of action to address these problems in line with the legal and businessrisk priorities that youve identified.Your presentation will be evaluated as follows: Organizationo The introduction lays out the scenarios basic facts and the employment lawproblems it raises in a clear, concise manner, and establishes a framework forthe presentation.o The remaining information is presented in a logical and coherent order.o The time and content devoted to each problem corresponds to its difficultyand importance. Content4o The content fits the scenario and the specified audience.o The law and facts are accurately presented.o The analysis of how the law applies to the facts is well-reasoned.o The analysis acknowledges the legal strengths and weaknesses of yourposition in each problem.o The legal and business risks are accurately identified and prioritized well.o The proposed course of action is thoughtful and attentive to legal and businessrealities.o The presentation is focused and does not veer off into irrelevant directions. Deliveryo Good eye contacto Clear, concise, audible deliveryo Visual aids are easy to absorb, effective, and not distractingo Well-informed, concise answers to audience questionso Respect for the 25-minute time limitAssessmentPaperYour paper should address the same topics as your presentation, but it should be developedfurther to address the questions and feedback that you received during the presentation. Thepaper must be 2000-2500 words in length. It must be uploaded to Canvas no later than Sunday,March 6, at 11:59 p.m.Your paper will be evaluated as follows: Organizationo The paper begins with an executive summary that gives the reader a bottomline assessment ranking the employment law problems you are facing, thespecific risks they pose, and your recommended course of action.o The paper proceeds problem by problem, applying the legal standards to thefacts for each one, and identifying the risks each problem presents.o Following the problem-by-problem analysis, the paper prioritizes theproblems in terms of business and legal risk and proposes a course of action. Contento The law and facts are accurately presented.o The analysis of how the law applies to the facts is thorough and wellreasoned.o The analysis acknowledges the legal strengths and weaknesses of yourposition in each problem, and accounts for both in its risk assessment.o The legal and business risks are accurately identified and prioritized well.o The proposed course of action is thoughtful and attentive to legal and businessrealities.o The paper is focused and does not veer off into irrelevant directions. Writingo The paper uses headings, subheadings, and topic and transition sentences tolead the reader through the analysis.5o Each paragraph is unified around a topic and proceeds logically from onetopic to the next.o The sentences are logically sequenced within the paragraphs.o The sentence-level writing is clear, concise, and precise in communicating itsmeaning.o The paper stays within the word limit.