Research and analysis

MGMT1101: Research & Analysis Paper – Part I Assignment

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Research & Analysis Paper – Part I Assignment

Note: It is important to keep in mind that the organization that you choose for assignment - MGMT1101 Research & Analysis Paper- Part I will also be used in the assignment -MGMT1101 Research & Analysis Paper- Part II.

Assignment Overview Learners will research and analyse an organization of their choice and is designed for you to apply the concepts learned in the course (modules 1-4), and involves the application of:

• Management and organizations. • Environmental constraints on management. • Leadership. • Planning and strategic management.

Learning Outcomes • Identify key functions and skills required of management within an organization. • Identify and analyze leadership approaches in a variety of situations. • Analyze constraints managers encounter within the external environment. • Identify the steps involved in the strategic planning process.

Academic Honesty Ensure you are aware of the College policies on Academic Honesty and also Plagiarism. Academic dishonesty and plagiarism are taken very seriously at the College even if the dishonesty or plagiarism is unintentional. Please also know that taking credit for work you did not contribute to as it is also considered Academic Dishonesty and will be reported.

Turnitin This assignment will be submitted to Turnitin. Turnitin is a web-based service that checks the assignment against its database of materials that contain other learner’s work as well as electronic academic materials. Learners find the Turnitin report useful for editing papers. The report will include incorrect use of referencing, too many quotes, and paraphrases. If the Turnitin report, for your first draft, shows a high percentage of matching text, this will give you an opportunity to review and edit your assignment for proper citations and more original analysis. Once you make your edits, it is possible to submit your work to Turnitin again. Turnitin will know not to match the text in your second draft with text in your first draft, and so on. It is advisable to wait at least 24 hours before you submit the second draft.

Turnitin results must be LESS than 15%.

Faculty finds Turnitin useful as a tool to teach learners proper citation practices and highlight the need for more learner originality. Faculty can also use Turnitin as a tool to detect possible instances of plagiarism and academic dishonesty.

Academic dishonesty can lead to a zero for this. Ensure you have read the Chiu School of Business Learner Handbook for more information about the Academic Honesty Policy. If you have any questions, contact your instructor.

MGMT1101: Research & Analysis Paper – Part I Assignment

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The paper must meet the following guidelines 1. Be 1500-1750 words in length (approximately 6-7 pages).

2. Organization and structure of your assignment: Organize your paper into sections using the bold headings which are already provided in the assignment instructions. Headings should be bold and clearly identify the various sections of the assignment. E.g. Provide a heading for Summary, Customer, Mission, SWOT Strengths, SWOT Weaknesses, etc.

3. Content should begin below your heading.

4. Content should be written using full sentence/paragraph format. Point-form responses will not receive a grade.

5. Be formatted in accordance with APA guidelines. You must include a separate reference page listing your sources as well as a title page (these are not included in the 5-7 page requirement for the body of the paper). Please refer to Bow Valley College’s Learning Resource, APA Formatting Guide http://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/apa-style.

6. Be typed in 12 point Times New Roman Font.

7. Must be double-spaced: Use 2.0 (double) line spacing.

8. A minimum of four resources must be used and sited (not including your textbook. Do NOT use Wikipedia).

9. You must cite ALL of your sources using APA formatting (please refer to Bow Valley College’s Learning Resource Services Page on citations: http://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/citation for further information).

10. All submissions must be run through Turnitin, which is anti-plagiarism software used by Bow Valley College.

11. Turnitin results must be LESS than 15%. Instructors: refer to instructor resources, ‘Turnitin requirements’ doc, in D2L.

12. You are permitted to submit up to three times in the dropbox folder (two drafts and one final assignment) as this enables you see your Turnitin score and revise your assignment accordingly.

13. Please review the Academic Honesty Module with respect to academic honesty and plagiarism. This information is located on Brightspace/D2L within the Program pages. (Location: https://d2l.bowvalleycollege.ca/d2l/home > Select your Program of Study under the heading My Programs > Select the Academic Honesty Module under the Content Browser)

14. You will receive a mark of zero if your work is copied or plagiarized and further disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with the academic honesty policy.

15. Your paper will be marked in accordance with the Rubric attached to this assignment.

16. Submit your assignment to the Brightspace/D2L Dropbox provided.

MGMT1101: Research & Analysis Paper – Part I Assignment

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Instructions Learners will research and analyse an organization of their choice. The organization you choose must be large enough that there is sufficient secondary research* available for you to access and it MUST have Canadian operations. During this process, you will develop an intimate understanding of your organization through a managerial lens.

*Secondary research involves gathering existing data that has already been produced. For example, a textbook, article, webpage, and electronic articles, etc.

This research assignment is designed for you to apply the management concepts learned in the textbook and course content.

All responses must be supported with research. Research should be evident throughout your entire paper (APA is required).

Although research is required YOUR INSIGHTS/IDEAS/PERSPECTIVES should also be evident throughout your paper. You will not find all the information you are looking for so you may have to make your own educated assumptions based on your understanding of the organization and the information you do find.

You may use the following resources: 1. Your textbook.

2. Course Content.

3. Other research or resources that are credible and academically reliable. (Google search engine, Google News, Facebook, the organization’s website, articles about the organization, industry journals if available etc. Do NOT use Wikipedia as this I not a credible source). Remember, all research must be referenced (cited properly, APA style), throughout your paper AND a proper reference page needs to be provided at the end. Please remember that you cannot simply provide a reference page without having also referenced your research properly within/ throughout your actual paper. Both are required.

4. The academic databases may be helpful to you. The databases can be accessed online through Bow Valley College`s Website: http://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/friendly.php?s=library.

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Summary of the Organization (8 marks) • Provide a brief overview of the organization you have chosen. • The summary should include the organizations; name, industry/market they are in,

location, history and description of the organization’s products or services offered, values, and any other information about the organization you feel is important and relevant.

• The summary should include the major themes which you’ll be addressing in your paper. You may not find all the information you would like, so you may need to make some assumptions based on your research.

• Research must be evident throughout.

Note: Although the Summary is the first section of your assignment, you might find it easier to write your Summary once your assignment is finished as it will be easier to complete and will contain more substance once you have already performed your research.

*For the purpose of this assignment, the term organization is synonymous with company.

Customer Base (4 marks) • Describe the customers your organization serves. What type of information should be

included when researching their customers? Information may include, but is not limited to, factors such as age, gender, income, ethnicity, occupation, location (do they live in urban, suburban, or rural areas?), values and interests, etc. Essentially, you’ll need to research who your company targets and provide a description of their perfect customer.

Mission and Core Values (4 marks) • Describe the mission of the organization (purpose of the organization/ why they

exist). • In addition to providing the organization’s mission, interpret the organization’s

corporate culture and core values. • Your personal insights/ideas/perspectives are evident throughout. • Research must be evident throughout. • If you cannot find the organization’s mission statement you’ll need to identify their

“purpose” on your own and explain, based on your research, why they exist and what you feel their mission is.

Vision (4 marks) • Describe the vision of the organization. Based on your research, where do the want

to be in the future?

• If you cannot find the organization’s vision statement you’ll need to identify their vision on your own and explain, based on your research, where they see themselves in the future/ what they aspire to be.

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Corporate-Level Strategies (6 marks) • Identify the organization’s corporate level strategy (growth, stability, or renewal)? • Justify your response and provide examples. Note: If the organization uses growth,

be sure to identify which growth strategy they use. If they use renewal, which renewal strategy do they use?

• Your personal insights/ideas/perspectives are evident throughout. • Research must be evident throughout.

Business-Level Strategies (6 marks) • Which business level strategy does the organization use in order to gain ‘competitive

advantage’ (cost leadership, differentiation, or focus)? Justify your response. • Your personal insights/ideas/perspectives if the business strategy is effective. Why or

why not? • Research must be evident throughout.

SWOT Analysis (16 marks) • The SWOT Analysis will address the entire organization as well as the product or

service you chose. • Full/complete sentences are required. • Your personal insights/ideas/perspectives are evident throughout. • Research must be evident throughout.

Be sure to address all four sections in your SWOT Analysis and provide a section and

bold heading for each. See below.

Strengths (internal): • Identify strengths of the organization and of the product/ service you chose.

Strengths are factors which will help the organization achieve its marketing goals and become more competitive (e.g. employee training, employee experience/ knowledge, financial resources, products/ services, etc.).

Weaknesses (internal): • Identify weaknesses of the organization and of the product/ service you

chose. Weaknesses are factors which will keep the organization from achieving its marketing goals and becoming more competitive (e.g. lack of employee training, lack of employee experience/ knowledge, lack of financial resources, poor quality products, etc.).

Opportunities (external): • Identify opportunities for the organization and for the product/ service you

chose. Opportunities are external factors which will help the organization achieve its marketing goals and become more competitive (e.g. technology, economy, competitors, social trends, legal issues, emerging target markets etc.).

Threats (external): • Identify threats to the organization and to the product/ service you chose.

Threats are external factors which will keep the organization from achieving its marketing goals and becoming more competitive (e.g. technology, economy, competitors, social trends, legal issues, emerging target markets etc.)

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Organized & Structured (2 marks) • Assignment is well organized/ structured as per assignment instructions (e.g. divided

into sections, proper bolded headings are used as per instructions, etc.). Looks professional and illustrates evidence of pride taken.

• The paper is the required length of 6-7 pages.

Spelling, Grammar, & Sentence Structure (3 marks) • Writing is clear, concise, and well organized with excellent sentence/paragraph

construction. Thoughts are expressed in a coherent and logical manner.

APA Formatting (3 marks) • Be formatted in accordance with APA guidelines. You must include a separate

reference page listing your sources as well as a title page (these are not included in the 6-7-page requirement for the body of the paper). Please refer to Bow Valley College’s Learning Resource, APA Formatting Guide http://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/apa-style.

• You must cite ALL of your sources using APA formatting (please refer to Bow Valley College’s Learning Resource Services Page on citations: http://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/apa-style/citation for further information).