Archive for category: Management

FORMAL WRITTEN REPORT Students will complete a short career exploration project in which they conduct company research on one selected prospective employer of interest. The purpose of the short written report assignment is to present the results of the career exploration project. The short written report will contain five individual assignments completed during the first part of the semester. Students who attend class regularly and complete each of the earlier assignments should not find the short written report to require much additional time to complete. Students are expected to complete and submit their own work. No portion of the short report—or any of the preliminary assignments–may be copied from another student or undocumented source.Write an introductory paragraph that satisfies the three components of an introduction listed found to be copied will receive a reduced grade based on the amount of copying. Likewise, students who knowingly or unknowingly allow other students to copy their work will also receive a reduced grade based on the amount of copying. Assignment 1 Research One Company/Organization for General Company Information in at Least Five Secondary Sources and Organize That Information into Three Main Topical Areas A. Select one company or organization for which you would like to work after graduation. Do not select an industry, product, or service. The company does not need to have an opening now for a position of interest you. You may select a company or organization of any size, location, or industry. You may select the same company/organization researched for Oral Presentation 1, or you may select a different company. You may switch to a different company later if you are unable to find the required information (Assignment 1B or Assignment 4) or simply lose interest in the company. B. Research the company selected in Assignment 1A in at least five secondary sources. The desired company information may come from any five reliable sources (books, journal, Internet, company website, social media sources, blogs, company employees, etc.). Information may be taken from multiple sites from the company webpage—or from any webpage; however, those multiple sites would be considered a single source. C. Obtain information for any three company topics of interest (i.e., products or services provided, company history, recent company news, customers, competitors, advertising or marketing campaigns, financial information, competitors, etc.). At least one of the company topic areas must be able to be subdivided into subtopics. Information for larger companies may be located in the Hoovers Online (Mergent) electronic database, available through the University Library. In a later assignment you will prepare a visual aid (Assignment 4) to include with the report, so be on the lookout for possible statistical information that could be converted into a visual aid. D. Complete the preparation outline, which appears inside the “Written Report Assignment” Learning Module. The outline will be used in Assignment 2 to “flesh out” or develop the report. Refer to the format shown in Format Guide 1. Page 2 Assignment 2 Write an Essay That Summarizes Company Information Found in the Five Secondary Sources Indicated in Assignment 2B. Here are conditions required of the essay: A. Write at least 2 full pages of text. Although graphics and vertical listings may be used, they would not count in the 2 full page text requirement. B. Paraphrase the entire essay. No quotations from any source may be used. C. Write an introductory paragraph that satisfies the three components of an introduction listed in Chapter 12 (Section 12-3b) in the course textbook (purpose, significance, and preview). D. Write the body of the report by “fleshing out” the points listed on the preparation outline. Use three levels of headings. The first-level heading will be the word “Findings.” Notice on the Assignment 2 Format Guide how to position and format the first-level heading. Place the company information about the three main topics under second-level, or side headings (see Format Guide example). Each of the main point sections must be developed into at least two full paragraphs. At least one of the main topics must be subdivided. Place the information about the subtopics under third-level or indented headings (see Format Guide example). Use section previews to introduce points that will be developed in subheaded sections. E. Insert in-text citations in every paragraph that contains secondary source information–if you already know how to compose APA style in-text citations. If you don’t know how to prepare APA style in-text citations, insert blank parentheses for now and insert them later in Assignment 3. F. Do not use any personal pronouns in the report introduction and body sections. Also, do not provide personal reactions to the company information. Personal reactions to the company information will be included in the report conclusion. Refer to the format shown in Format Guide 2. Assignment 1 Assignment started: Module 1 (August 19-22) Assignment finished: Module 2 (August 23-25) Submitted & Graded?: No Assignment 2 Assignment started: Module 3 (August 26-29) Assignment finished: Module 4 (August 30-September 1) Submitted & Graded?: No Page 3 Assignment 3 Document Secondary Research Sources Used A. Insert at least one APA-style in-text citation in every paragraph that contains information taken from a secondary source—if this task was not completed in Assignment 2E. Information obtained from interviews are considered personal communication, which are documented within the report (in-text citations) but not on the reference page The absence of in-text citations acknowledging secondary information would be considered plagiarism. Information on APA-style documentation is available inside Appendix B and many other sources. Make sure that all information from secondary information is paraphrased in your own wording rather than copied directly from the original source. Copying the same wording as used in the original source would also be considered plagiarism. No quotations are allowed. A single incidence of plagiarism will automatically prevent the report from receiving an “A” grade, regardless of the merits of the report in other areas. A second incidence of plagiarism will automatically prevent the report from receiving a “B” grade, and so on. A report with no in-text citations at all will automatically receive a failing grade, regardless of the merits of the report in other areas. Students are responsible for understanding plagiarism before submitting their reports. Plagiarism is covered in Chapter 11 of the course textbook and many other sources. Students wishing to contest the points lost for plagiarism may do so at a University Academic Misconduct hearing. B. Prepare an APA-style reference page that contains the five sources consulted in completing Assignment 1B. Information on APA-style documentation is available inside Appendix B and many other sources. Information obtained from interviews are considered personal communication, which are documented within the report (in-text citations) but not on the reference page. Refer to the format shown in Format Guide 3. Assignment 3 Assignment started: Module 5 (September 2-5) Assignment finished: Module 6 (September 6-8) Submitted & Graded?: No Page 4 Assignment 4 Prepare One Graphic Before completing Assignment 4 as explained in Instructions “A” and “B” below, students are strongly encouraged to watch the video entitled, “Video 4 Supplement (Explanation of Preparing Graphics).” That video appears inside the Written Report Assignment folder—immediately below the “Video 4—Assignment 4” video. A. Construct one graphic (table or figure) from secondary source data information, as indicated below. Do not copy and paste a graphic found in a secondary source unless you receive written permission from the graphic author. Show the written permission to the instructor. Table. The table should contain at least two columns and three rows. Also, include these items: (a) lead-in sentence, inserted at the appropriate location within the body (findings) section, phrased similar to the example in Chapter 11 (11-5b, “Introduce a graph meaningfully”); (b) numeric designation; (c) title; and (d) source notation. Figure. The figure can be any type appropriate for statistical data, such as a pie chart, bar chart, or line chart. Also, include these items: (a) lead-in sentence, inserted at the appropriate location within the body (findings) section, phrased similar to the example in Chapter 11 (11-5b, “Introduce a graph meaningfully”); (b) numeric designation; (c) title; and (d) source notation. B. Insert the graphic prepared in Assignment 4A within the essay prepared for Assignments 2 and 3. Place the graphic’s lead-in sentence within the paragraph where the topic of the graphic is covered. Place the graphic below the paragraph containing the graphic’s lead-in sentence. If there is not enough room on the bottom of that same page to contain the graphic, place the graphic on the top of the next page. Refer to the format shown in Format Guide 4. Assignment 5 Write the Last Two Components of the Short Report Write the two remaining sections of the report: Conclusion and Title Page. A. Conclusion. Write a conclusion that could be drawn from the report “findings” (Assignment 2). Specifically, are you still interested in the company or organization studied in Assignment 2? Describe why or why not. Support your conclusion by incorporating some of the most important findings reported in Assignment 2. Place the conclusion section after the findings section. Assignment 4 Assignment started: Module 7 (September 9-12) Assignment finished: Module 7 (September 9-12) Submitted & Graded?: No Page 5 B. Identification Information. Write identification information for Page 1 and subsequent pages. The Page 1 identification information will be typed directly on the top of Page 1; the subsequent page identification information will be typed in the report header. Several short report examples in Chapter 12 (Figures 12.12, 12.14, 12.15, and 12.16) illustrate the identification information components to use (Date, To, From, Subject) on the top of Page 1. A subsequent page header instruction page will assist with preparing the header information on Page 2 and any subsequent pages. Refer to the format shown in Format Guide 5. Assignment Submission Submit the assignment to the designated Turnitin link by the assignment due date listed below. Before submitting the report, make sure the assignment is complete (review assignment sheet and format guide), proofread carefully, and free of any plagiarism (review Chapter 11 explanation or any other source). A 4-point per day (including any weekend or holiday days) penalty deduction will be assessed for reports submitted later than the posted assignment due date. Due Date: September 19 Last Date Report Will Be Accepted: October 1 No report will be accepted later than October 1 except in unusual circumstances as approved in advance by the instructor. Students dissatisfied with their written report assignment score may complete a new report on a different company. The score on the new assignment will be averaged with the score on the original report. New reports must be completed and submitted before the last day of classes for the semester. Assignment 5 Assignment started: Module 8 (September 13-15) Assignment finished: Module 9 (September 16-19) Submitted & Graded?: YES (September 19) Page 6 MGMT 3315 FORMAL REPORT SUBJECT CONTENT Introduction _____ (5) Content (purpose, significance, preview, documentation) Proofreading (grammar, spelling, punctuation) Body (Findings) _____ (35) Content Main Point 1 (development, documentation) Main Point 2 (development, documentation) Main Point 3 (development, documentation) Writing quality (wording, paragraphing) Proofreading (Grammar, spelling, punctuation) Headings 1 st level (Findings (section preview after), Conclusion) 2 nd level (Main Point 1, Main Point 2, Main Point 3) 3 rd level (Section preview before, Subtopic 1, Subtopic 2) Documentation (In-text citations) At least 5 different sources cited Citations included where needed; no quotations used Citations prepared correctly Documentation (Reference page citations) Page format; 5 sources; citation content & format Graphic (appropriate for data; placement; format; lead-in sentence) Conclusions/Recommendations Content (Still interested in company? Why or why not?) _____ (5) Proofreading (Grammar, spelling, punctuation) LAYOUT/FORMAT _____ (5) Memo identification information (p. 1) Subsequent page header(s) Margins Spacing Font type/size Pagination Indention Other SUBTOTAL (50) _____ DEDUCTIONS Submitted Late ( -4/day; 20 pts. maximum) _____ Page 7 Plagiarism (-5/incident; up to -50 points) _____ TOTAL (50) _____