Communicating and Problem Solving

Project: Find Trends in Your Profession (Human Resource Management)

PART 1

For this assignment, students will need to draft a Reference Page of various references you will use for Project 2 “Find Trends in Your Profession”. I will review and evaluate your references to see if you’re following APA 7th guidelines. See attached Sample for the draft Reference page.

PART 2

In this project (5 pages minimum) , you will search for information that will enable you to identify three top trends in your profession or field (Profession- Human Resource Management OR Field- Business Administration) .

For this Project, you will conduct research on the emerging trends of your industry (Human Resource Management) and an issue of particular interest to you in one of those trends. While you may have practical knowledge of the field, think of this project as a means to find information that a manager would need to inform and shape strategic decisions. Where is the industry going? What are the new growth areas? A manager uses information about emerging trends to inform planning and shape the organization's future.  You will profit from this research because knowing the trends in your field will enable you to make informed decisions about your own employment options, and perhaps to take advantage of future job opportunities. 

Once you have identified new trends, pick an issue that you would like to explore more . Use the school library and other productive sites to take a focused research approach that is based on a research question or statement of the problem. Once you have done some preliminary research, you might want to craft a working hypothesis. You will continue to research and analyze the information that you have found to arrive at some conclusions, which may support your hypothesis; or, you may find that you have found a different answer than you expected.  This is worthwhile science, not a failure!  Remember that inquiry begins with a question or some anomaly that you observe:  why does....? what does x mean?  Did x event cause y action?  I'm giving you both forms of inquiry: a question and a statement because you may find yourself more comfortable with one or the other.  Sometimes, a question is the first step to a more refined statement of the problem.  

This project will enable you to identify a problem or issue that causes you to want to solve or learn more about it.  Getting really clear about what you are seeking helps you with your research strategy.  Once you have a focused statement or question, you can search on the keywords and the conditions you set. You will then identify what information you need to answer that question, you will search out that information, and analyze the information to produce “findings”, bringing you to information that helps you to make connections, analyze the facts, taking a balanced approach if the issue is disputed, and come to some conclusions. You will use this process in many ways, from writing grants or other proposals to identifying a problem in your professional field. The process helps you to conduct an effective research for relevant, timely information, and draw well-reasoned conclusions based on your analysis of the facts. 

The sections of your paper will follow this order:

I. Introduction  (Introduce the industry and the top trends and then the issue that you have chosen and share the question or problem that prompted you to learn more.)

II. Findings

A. Top Trends of the _____ Industry  (You will provide the NAICS or SOC codes for the industry that you are researching to demonstrate that you have learned how to navigate the business databases.  You will then write about the three top trends in your industry, providing a concise explanation of the trend and how it is trending, and the influence on the industry.)  

B. An Important Emerging Issue in a trend and what it means in context to the industry (Here you will describe and discuss the issue you chose, why it is important to the industry, and what your research produced (both sides of the issue is disputed).  You will then make well-reasoned arguments that answer the research question you asked at the start).

III. Conclusions  (Here you will tie up the trends, the issue, and make some overall conclusions about what your research revealed to you, any gaps that still remain in your understanding of the issue, and your final summary).

IV. References  (Please refer to the APA 7th Edition examples to get these correct. You will submit Draft References pages. I will look over and provide feedback so there is no reason to re-submit based on citations. Remember, these are double-spaced, hang-indented, and in alphabetical order).

Remember to start at the beginning of the project and use the materials in the steps. 

Rubric Name: Find Trends in Your Profession

Competencies	Exceeds Performance Requirements
1.1: Organize document or presentation clearly in a manner that promotes understanding and meets the requirements of the assignment	Key Criteria: Material is presented with meticulous attention to logical order, supporting a clearly articulated thesis. Ideas are arranged so that they make consistent, coherent progress from introduction to conclusion; transitions support smooth connections from point to point. Paper addresses all requirements of the assignment, to include error-free APA formatting and compliance with instructions.
1.2: Develop coherent paragraphs or points so that each is internally unified and so that each functions as part of the whole document or presentation.	Key Criteria: Paper achieves internal coherence through consistent and skillful construction of paragraphs with meaningful topic sentences, supported by well-developed sentences of sufficient depth. The arrangement of paragraphs enables ideas to flow seamlessly from one point to the next.
1.3: Provide sufficient, correctly cited support that substantiates the writer’s ideas.	Key Criteria: Paper demonstrates fluency in selection and use of credible sources to support ideas and findings. Writer skillfully integrates others' ideas by correctly paraphrasing, quoting, and citing sources. In-text citations and the references list are consistently formatted to APA standards.
1.4: Tailor communications to the audience.	Key Criteria: Paper demonstrates cognizance of audience, skillfully using precise and appropriate language and terms to convey the intended meaning and tone of the paper to readers.
1.5: Use sentence structure appropriate to the task, message and audience.	Key Criteria: Paper expresses ideas clearly and concisely. Sentence structure is varied throughout the paper to ensure smooth flow and engaging narrative. Paper is free of major sentence-level errors such as awkward syntax, run-on sentences, fragments, and comma splices.
1.6 Follow conventions of Standard Written English.	Paper is free of errors in standard usage rules of grammar, word choice, spelling, and punctuation. Paper demonstrates correct tense constructions, noun/pronoun congruence, and accepted use of acronyms.
2.1: Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, or problem under critical consideration	Key Criteria: Paper provides a clear and comprehensive explanation of the issue under consideration, providing sufficient detail to illuminate the underlying causes and addressing questions that inform the direction of research. Paper indicates that the student has considered and identified relevant factors to inform and direct research.
2.2: Locate and access sufficient information to investigate the issue or problem.	Key Criteria: Paper demonstrates skill in locating and accessing information that provides insight into the issue or problem. Where applicable, paper identifies contradictions or inconsistencies in information and demonstrates skill in using search engines to find facts.
2.3: Evaluate the information in a logical and organized manner to determine its value and relevance to the problem.	Key Criteria: Paper exhibits coherence in analysis, suggesting student's ability to skillfully discern desirable qualities of information. Student has evaluated arguments, evidence, and logic to select information that best informs the problem or issues.
2.4: Consider and analyze information in context to the issue or problem.	Key Criteria: Paper acknowledges and addresses various viewpoints, and conclusions are based on sound analysis. Alternative perspectives and solutions are discussed in enough detail to justify a different conclusion or course of action. Analysis of all options is logic-based.
2.5 Develop well-reasoned ideas, conclusions or decisions, checking them against relevant criteria and benchmarks	Paper demonstrates compelling conclusions based on thoughtful analysis of fact. Paper includes legal or ethical dimensions of the issue where applicable. Paper is complete in format and content and has few if any formatting errors.

Competencies

Your work will be evaluated using the competencies listed below.

· 1.1: Organize document or presentation clearly in a manner that promotes understanding and meets the requirements of the assignment.

· 1.2: Develop coherent paragraphs or points so that each is internally unified and so that each functions as part of the whole document or presentation.

· 1.3: Provide sufficient, correctly cited support that substantiates the writer's ideas.

· 1.4: Tailor communications to the audience.

· 1.5: Use sentence structure appropriate to the task, message and audience.

· 1.6: Follow conventions of Standard Written English.

· 2.1: Identify and clearly explain the issue, question, or problem under critical consideration.

· 2.2: Locate and access sufficient information to investigate the issue or problem.

· 2.3: Evaluate the information in a logical and organized manner to determine its value and relevance to the problem.

· 2.4: Consider and analyze information in context to the issue or problem.

· 2.5: Develop well-reasoned ideas, conclusions or decisions, checking them against relevant criteria and benchmarks.