Objective: This artifact will address the needs for demonstration of proficiency in information literacy and research, understanding of the corporate workplace and competitiveness, as well as business communication.

Assignment:
Students will individually write and submit a research paper featuring an analysis of a corporation and a major issue facing that firm. By the end of this assignment, the student should develop an understanding of management practice that enables them to function more effectively in today’s work environments, including an awareness of the issues of globalization, firm competitiveness, and the effect and impact of structure on firm performance.
This paper should demonstrate that the student understands how business trends affect an organization’s capability for achieving a competitive advantage in the 21st century business environment. The project will incorporate general management concepts and theory introduced and learned by students throughout the course and should demonstrate the student’s ability to both comprehend these concepts and apply knowledge learned in a systematic way.  Parameters and guidelines for the assessment are as follows:

Subject:
Subject to professor approval, students will select a corporation that will then be analyzed by the student individually.
•    The choice of firm for analysis should be related to the student’s course of study if possible.
•    It is preferred that the corporation chosen is listed on either the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ.
•    Publically-traded firms are generally preferred due to access and availability of information pertaining to the company chosen.
•    The student will also select a relevant recent periodical article which will then be analyzed and applied to the chosen firm.
•    A midterm draft or interim paper of some sort should be required and reviewed by the instructor. This draft will then be reviewed by the professor such that pertinent feedback may then be given to the student for the purpose of coaching and guiding the student toward the successful completion of the final draft.
•    The final grade for this assignment should represent 30% of the student’s final course grade.

Content:

STEP ONE: Company selection and analysis
•    The student should select a company for analysis and write up a profile of the company selected. The profile should include:
•    Presentation and discussion of firm Mission/Vision
•    Presentation and discussion of the firm’s current strategic plans and/or direction
•    Presentation and discussion of the firm’s culture
•    A brief discussion of the firm’s structure and organization
•    The above subject areas could be presented in a strengths/weaknesses format as part of an overall SWOT-style analysis
•    Approximately 5-7 pages, double-spaced, typed

STEP TWO: Article selection and analysis
•    Write a report on an article that was written within the past year that deals with a topic directly affecting the competitiveness of the student’s chosen firm. The article chosen should have something important to say about an element of organizational effectiveness – it can profile a dramatic social trend, give an industry prediction, address a strategic competency like leadership or HR, highlight a current environmental issue (for instance, the social responsibility component of sustainability), or comment on financial or market failures, etc.
•    Students should give a brief summary of the article, identifying the issue that attracted them to the article, explain why this issue is important, and what they learned from the article.
•    Students should discuss how the subject of the article will affect their firm from a competitive perspective, highlighting any relevant changes necessary to the management structure, culture, or strategic direction of the firm.
•    Approximately 5-7 pages, double-spaced, typed

Required parameters:
•    This project is a requirement for completing this course and should be turned in during week 11 of the quarter
•    Failure to complete this project will result in a failing grade.
•    10 – 14 total pages, double spaced, typed
•    All citations and references must be in MLA format
•    Final project must be submitted to your professor as well as a single copy uploaded to Blackboard via Safe Assignment