Paper due Sunday

I Bringing knowledge and information to bear on a problem requires clear thinking about the nature of the problem. The purpose of this assignment is to select and define the topic for your Research Paper and Business Proposal due in Units 9 and 10.

Preparation

Reflect on what you have read about RPZ Marketing. Think about what you see as the company's current strengths and opportunities, as well as its potential weaknesses and threats. Choose an aspect of the business that interests you enough to study it further. Make some initial notes about how you might state a specific problem currently facing RPZ. Here is an example of the kind of thinking you might pursue:

I have always been interested in the ways in which leaders guide their organizations through times of change. From reading the RPZ scenarios, it appears that this company is in exactly that kind of situation, having acquired a company that immediately increases its size and reach. On the other hand, it is a situation that could lead to internal conflicts, and could be very difficult to manage. What are the most important things that a leader needs to pay attention to in a situation like this? That's what I'd like to find out more about.

Work through the "Defining Your Topic" section of the Library Research and Information Literacy Skills resources in iGuide. Try both the mind-mapping approach, and the search approach for defining your topic.

Sample Topic Areas

Topics to consider might include the following:

• The importance of strategic planning for acquisitions.
• Deciding to acquire a company or compete with it.
• The decision to supplement consulting staff by outsourcing.
• The viability of training to development additional consulting resources.

Instructions

Select a topic area that interests you, either one of those listed or your own idea. Begin your assignment by providing your answers to the following questions:

1. How would you describe your area of greatest interest in the RPZ case? 
   • Sample response: I would like to know what works—what makes leaders successful in situations like this.
2. What ideas, factors, or issues do you believe are most closely related to this area of interest? 
   • Sample response: I think there are a lot of factors that leaders have to be concerned about, including how to structure the merged company, who should be in charge of what, how to keep people productive, and how to keep the company on track during the change.
3. What are you assuming is true about this situation? 
   • Sample response: First, I'm assuming that it can be done—that some companies really do succeed at this. Second, I'm assuming that there are things that leaders can do in this situation that are more likely to result in success. I'm also assuming that others have been through this successfully, and some have written about the experience. 
4. What do you think is the major aspect of this area of interest that would be worth exploring? 
   • Sample response: I am guessing that certain decisions have to be made about people and the structure of the organization, that some kind of process should be followed, and that plans will be needed. What interests me most is how to best make those decisions about people and structure.

Compose a specific, business-related statement that you think can be argued for or against, and that will be used to guide the research.

Sample statement:

One way that organizations can continue to grow is to acquire other organizations. Even when an acquisition seems to make sense, though, putting the companies together is not an easy task, and can lead to disruptive times for both the acquirer and the acquired. Leaders of the acquiring organization have a critical role in guiding that process. The starting point for success, therefore, is the initial decisions that leaders make about people and structure. 

Structure your assignment by posing each of the four questions above, followed by your response to each. Conclude by providing the statement that will guide your research.

Refer to the Defining a Topic Scoring Guide to ensure that your work meets the grading criteria for this assignment.