2 pages about Predicting Harry's Work Effort on

Remember that a business consultant is somewhat analogous to a physician: If you have a medical problem, you go to a doctor, you describe your symptoms, and based upon that, the doctor makes a diagnosis. The diagnosis is equivalent to your team reading the case (which describes the company’s “symptoms”) and identifying the key issues (making the “diagnosis).

The medical doctor would then prescribe some treatment, based on the diagnosis and his/her subject matter expertise in drugs/physical therapy, etc. This is equivalent to your team using your own subject matter expertise in organizational behavior, based upon what you’re learning in the readings and lectures, to apply the relevant OB concepts and theories in making recommendations to the firm. These are usually organized in the paper and presentation on an issue-by-issue basis, but some may be combined if they need the same “treatment”.

Finally, the medical doctor would give the patient a prognosis. For your team, this would be the equivalent to your concluding sections of the paper and presentation where you tell the top management team of your firm how they will benefit if they implement your recommendations. There needs to be a clear link between each key issue you have identified and the specific, practical, operationalizable recommendations you make. The conclusion section is where you tie everything together and show the company who has hired your team that your services are worth the money they’re paying you!

So, that’s the context. In terms of specifics of organization and what I’m looking for in the grading process:

Format:

Each case is different, so there is some variability in length, topics covered, etc. However, case write-ups generally run 5-8 double-spaced typed pages, 12 pt. font.

References should be cited in APA format (American Psychological Association – this is the default standard for the social sciences disciplines of which business/management is a part).

Your write up should also include a title page that includes the paper’s title and the names of all the team members. Please also include page numbers on each page thereafter.

Content:

Introduction: Your paper should include an introductory section that briefly describes the subject company and its key issue(s). I recommend each student on the team read the case separately and make an individual list of what he/she thinks the issues are, then the team as a whole should compare lists and discuss and reconcile any differences. It is ideal if you can not only identify the issue(s), but also talk about the kinds of problems/difficulties they are causing for the firm.

Analysis & Recommendations: In this section you should incorporate relevant organizational behavior theory and concepts into your recommendations. Again, this analysis usually is organized on an issue-by-issue basis.

Conclusion: In this section you will talk about HOW you company benefits if it implements your recommendations. As consultants, this is where you make your money and impress the client. Go back to the original “symptoms” – what were the problems that the identified issues were causing, as a practical matter, for the firm. In this section, show, in concrete terms, how those problems are addressed by your recommendations.

References: You don’t need to cite the case source (your textbook). But if you do any outside research, those sources should be cited here. Use APA format. It may be useful, for example, to do some research into “best practices” that other companies have adopted to address similar issues. That kind of evidence, along with the incorporation of basic OB theory, can bolster th credibility of your recommendations to the client firm.

Appendices and other matter: Feel free to incorporate relevant charts, models, etc. into the body of your paper (especially in the analysis & recommendations section). If there are things that are relevant, such as supporting evidence from another company or industry’s “best practices” that aren’t appropriate to include in the main body of the paper, you can reference them there and include them in an appendix at the end of the paper – you may need an appendix of this sort more for the team research project than the case projects.