target paper

General Information: You will prepare and submit a Draft Paper and a Final Paper. The draft should cover the entire contents of the paper in a brief form to convince me you have started working on the whole paper (not just an outline). You must include preliminary references and APA formatting in the draft You will need to upload the draft paper by the dates shown on the calendar.

Description: Select an organization (your work, school, or other organization to which you have access) and describe the four managerial functions: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Use your text as a reference for describing the styles, types, and categories you observe.

• Your description of planning should include how the business sets goals and defines the actions necessary to carry out plans. A description of annual goal- setting or planning meetings may be included for this purpose. Refer to information in chapters 5-8.

• Your description of leadership in the organization should include management styles, the manager’s knowledge of individual and group behavior, and ability to motivate and communicate. Limit this discussion to one or two specific managers in the organization and briefly describe their leadership styles while leading the organization. Refer to chapters 13-15 for information.

• A discussion of organizing should include what type of tasks must be accomplished (in broad terms) and who is assigned to perform and manage them. In other words, what types of jobs does the business have and how are they managed. Describe the type of organization by determining the number of levels in the hierarchy and developing a simplified organizational chart. Refer to chapters 9-12 for information.

• In discussing the controlling function, include the methods for monitoring the performance of the organization plus techniques for identifying and correcting deviations between planned and actual results. Specifically, discuss methods for performance reviews and the budgeting process. Refer to chapters 16-18 for information.

  Requirements: The paper must be well written with proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, and references. The Research Papers will be a minimum of 6 to 7 typed pages plus a cover page and a References page, bringing the total to 8 or 9 pages. The paper will be double-spaced using 12-point “Times New Roman” font and standard one-inch margins. This equates to approximately 1500 to 1800 words. The paper must be correctly formatted and documented using the APA style.

  Specific description (assembling the paper): The paper should consist of the following sections:

1

• Introduction – Establish “Section I - Introduction” as a Level 1 heading: Describe the purpose of the paper by identifying your organization and clearly stating your thesis. This is the information that you will show or prove about the organization. A thesis might include a statement such as “The XYZ Corporation is a well-managed organization that is prepared for profitability (or other measureable form of success) in the future” or, “The XYZ Corporation exhibits several management flaws that will limit profitability (or other measureable business elements such as market share, customer service, long-term financial success, etc.) in the future.” Note that your analysis section will provide support for this thesis (or opinion) and your conclusion will describe how you proved your position. Size: About one page total.

• Background - Establish “Section II - Background” as a Level 1heading: provide some historical perspective for the organization. You should research and include references that provide this background information. Size: About one page total.

• Analysis – Establish “Section III - Analysis” as a Level 1 heading: your discussion of each of the four managerial functions is included in this section. Additional Level 2 headings will be included under this Analysis section as follows:

  o Planning
  o Leading
  o Organizing o Controlling

  Note that some students plan to describe personal observations or experiences regarding these four managerial elements at their place of work. However, please understand that it is a research paper, it is NOT a vehicle for merely expressing YOUR opinions on various managerial functions.

  Specifically, this paper offers the opportunity to report on an observed function and then present the research on how the experts evaluate its effectiveness in the given situation you have described. Consequently, avoid writing an “autobiography” simply describing your personal experiences and opinions. You may express your personal opinions in the conclusion but limit the body of your research report to examining how the researchers have assessed the functional area you are observing and describing.

  Finally, these instructions state you must cite 5 references including a scholarly journal article. Consequently, you must reference these expert opinions along with any of your observations or personal experiences. You should describe the four managerial elements you observe and then follow-up your discussion with a comparison to how each function is or is not operating efficiently according to the experts’ examinations of these functions. You will then give credit to these experts via in-text citations and list them in the references.

  Size: This is the main body of your research paper so prepare about one page each for the four functions, four pages total.

2

• Conclusion – Establish “Section IV - Conclusion” as a Level 1 heading: Discuss how your thesis was proved or demonstrated and provide the lessons learned from the subject. Size: About one page.

• References - At least five (5) sources must be cited and included in a References page using APA format. Note: APA style uses a “reference” page—If you use a “Works Cited” page, that is MLA format and you will not receive full credit for your paper. Similarly, a “bibliography” page is not an acceptable substitute for an APA- style “reference” page.

  You may include your text as one of the references. Do not include encyclopedias or dictionaries, although these sources may be used in addition to the others. At least one source from an academic journal (online or hard copy) is required. Consider using a reference like the Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, or Academy of Management Perspectives. Other sources may include books, articles from major publications and newspapers, and appropriate Internet sites (do not copy internet information word-for-word unless placed in quotations and properly cited in the text). You should paraphrase or summarize the information cited from other sources rather than copying and pasting it. You should also expect to include expert documentation (personal interviews) in this paper so you should become familiar with how to cite and reference them (see information on personal communication later in this document).