Final Paper Project: Problem Solving
The
project presents an opportunity for you to apply what has been learned in the
course (through videos, cases, readings, and discussions) to problems in an
organization of your choice. This assignment requires you to apply topics from
the course in attempt to solve a specific problem that exists in an
organization with which you are familiar. That problem should center on either
a job performance issue or an organizational commitment issue. The paper should
be 1000 words in length (4 pages doubled spaced, excluding the cover page).
More details are provided below.
Gather
information from people in an organization through direct contact. You may supplement this information with data
from the media, the organization’s literature, and other secondary sources. You should identify a relatively recent
problem to analyze (i.e. this should not be an historical account of a problem
and the company’s solution). You should
focus your analysis by applying the concepts from the course. While it is acceptable to incorporate several
concepts from the course, please aim for depth regarding the use of course
concepts. Your goal is to diagnose the
mechanisms that are causing the problem or issue of concern in the
organization. Initially, you may notice many symptoms (for instance, high turnover,
seemingly low morale, low commitment, motivation etc.), but your task is to get
to the underlying reason for these symptoms. And beware, sometimes the initial
symptoms we think we see are not what they appear to be.
There
are two broad goals for this assignment:
1.
One goal of this assignment is to take the
initiative to make a positive contribution to an organization.
2.
Another major goal is to provide an opportunity
for you to learn more about organizational behavior first hand and to use your
critical thinking and reflection skills to link your experience with this
organization to your learning in relation to organizational behavior theory.
To
meet these broad goals, you should answer the following questions in your
assignment:
a)
What are the issues or problems facing the
organization?
b)
What course concepts can be applied to
understand why this problem is occurring?
c)
What recommendations can you offer to help
improve organizational functioning?
The Written Report
a)
Company or organization’s background (including
Mission/Vision Statement) (p.1)
b)
What are the issues or problems facing the
organization? (pp.1-2) (2 problems are required)
c)
What course concepts can be applied to
understand why this problem is occurring? (This can be explained when
discussing the problems or recommendations or a section of its own)
d)
What recommendations, based on these course
concepts, can you offer to help improve organizational functioning and address
the problem you identified? (pp. 3-4) (2 recommendations per problem; a
total of 4 recommendations)
**Note: Paper must be formatted
in APA Style and should include the following:
· Cover Page.
· In-text citations.
· Reference Page listing at
least three references (1 reference must be our textbook).
***Note: An Abstract is not
required. Please see the Sample Student paper in APA and Writing Resources in
the “Students Start Here” Module.
Please do not plagiarize.
The Presentation
Create
a PowerPoint Presentation using the information in your written report. The PowerPoint presentation will be visible
to other students. In the PowerPoint presentation, please include the following
slides:
a)
Slide 1: Company or organization’s name; Your name
b)
Slide 2: Company’s Mission/Vision what are the issues
or problems facing the organization?
c)
Slide 3: List the issues or problems facing the
organization
d)
Slide 4: List the recommendations to help
improve organizational functioning and address the problem you identified?
