Please refer to the draft I attached and expand from it.
The Assignment
The goal of the Individual Project is to provide an opportunity to a ‘deeper dive’ into analyzing a business situation and coming up with your own ideas about what should be done or should have been done differently to better achieve organizational or industry goals, short, medium, and long term. This is both research paper and a critical thinking paper. You will research the ‘issues in play’, analyze them, and make recommendations about ‘next steps’, which could be directed to company leadership, industry leaders as a group, or policy makers (politicians that make laws).
In terms of length, the paper is to be between 1,500 (minimum) to 2,500 (maximum) words (that’s 3 to 5 pages, single-spaced). It is highly advised you DO use section headings. This paper requires at least 3 different credible sources for research, so it WILL include in-text citations and a References page. Formatting is to be APA, but for us, we will use SINGLE LINE SPACING. A cover page is highly recommended, and your paper needs to include an Executive Summary, which we will discuss at greater length later. The Executive Summary does NOT count toward the 1,500 – 2,500 word requirement.
Paper Format / Content Sections
Consider the usual Problem Statement, Analysis, Alternatives, Recommendation, Implementation format. BUT you do NOT need to follow that format. An alternative format like the one below might work just as well or better depending on how you want to compose your paper. REMEMBER to include an Executive Summary!!
Background:
Recent history of event that lead to this moment
Who is/are the key player(s) involved and what are their priorities (mission, goals, values, etc)
The current issues that are ‘playing out’ now (i.e. what’s simply going on today about your topic). If you’re considering a historic topic, what were the issues in play at the time.
Issues in Play / Inflection Point (Links to an external site.)
What is currently happening or unfolding. If you’re doing something that took place in history, consider the ‘inflection point’ – the point at which something critical happened that determined the direction of the outcomes.
Analysis
What do you think will be the outcomes of your topic and why. If you’re considering something historic, what things (decisions, consequences, events) took place that caused the outcomes related to your topic. In terms of the current situation, consider what is likel to happen next and what could happen “IF” (consider different possible outcomes from related events and/or decisions)
Recommendation / Retrospective
What should the key player(s) do to get the best outcomes. If you’re covering something that also includes some ‘historic’ considerations, what should have been done to have had better outcomes.
You do NOT need to use these section headings. These headings ‘fit’ with the way I’ve decided to approach the paper. For your paper, use whatever section headings make sense. They might look like these. They might look like our usual Case Method (problem statement, analysis, etc.). They might look like something else too. It’s up to you. Just be logical. Most importantly, remember that this is not just a research paper. The paper should contain your own analysis and recommendations, judgements, conclusions, suggestions, that you support logically.
Your Topic
The effects AI will have on business (pick a relevant career field, industry, and/or company)
Topics can include business, economic, and policy issues that are relevant today. Be as specific as possible and focus on a specific industry or maybe even single company. Focusing on a specific company or industry will help ensure that your paper is not too long and not too general. Trade journals, business news magazines (i.e. Harvard Business Review, The Economist, etc.), the business section of a major newspapers are all good sources to find a topic for you to cover. The important thing is that the issue / topic you find is currently ‘in-play’, meaning issues have not yet been resolved but still lends itself to some basic research. NOTE: You have access to EVERY major newspaper, trade journal, and business magazine published today. Again, the idea would be to use these as ideas and then focus on a specific industry or even single company. Note that a good topic will ensure you get maximum points for Strategy and Analysis (see the CLASS rubric).
