Business paper and PPT

Buad 301

TARP - Team Analytical Research Report

Dates to remember:

TARP Report Due: Last day of classes (one printed copy and one upload per team).

TARP Oral Presentations: Last two weeks of class.

WRITTEN REPORT OVERVIEW

Purpose:

· Organizing and outlining a team analytical report

· Writing a well-researched analytical proposal in a team environment

Expected Outcome:

· Write a well-organized & properly formatted formal research proposal in proper APA style

· Write a PowerPoint presentation and give a team presentation

Assessment Measures:

· Organization, CLASS rubric, readability, professionalism and appeal

· Balanced structure, literacy, and consistent form

· Argument, plausibility, feasibility, research, validity of argument, and scope

Specific Purpose: To give recommendations to an organization in order to fix a problem; or to adopt a new or modify an existing community outreach program to meet its business objectives. Ask yourself how can organizations (small or large) improve its image and help its community base by engaging in organized philanthropy? This involves going to a community-based, non-profit organization or business and explaining your motives (defining & analyzing a problem, creating researched alternatives, pick the best one, have an implementation report for them). Hint: Avoid large companies (bureaucratic); small companies tend to have more problems, and will be more open to your help.

Your Role:

You are a team of professional consultants hired to advise a business on how to fix a problem. For example, if you develop a strategic plan for a business to improve its community relations by adopting a specific corporate outreach program you must determine why the company needs to improve its relationship with its various communities. From a problem and business standpoint, you must determine what “to improve” means specifically and concretely.

Your Primary Audience:

You will need to learn the name of a person who would be responsible for initiating and directing your proposal or program. If you are working on a Mom and Pop store, you will write the report to the owner. You are not writing this report to me. You are writing it to a businessperson and you must have a business purpose for writing the report.

Suggestions: Find a company that would actually benefit from a new outreach program; a non-profit or for-profit business with a salient problem to solve. Consider an outreach program, for example, think about how this company might best serve the community given the kind of products and/or services it provides. There should be a good fit between the company’s brand identity and its outreach program. Examples that have been written about and garnered good grades: Edible Arrangements donated a plethora of excess fresh fruit (that was in the past thrown away) to local primary school for its needy students. Do not use the company you work at, or one that is connected to a direct family member (not research).

Some Common Business Goals and Objectives:

1. Increasing client generation

1. Promoting brand recognition, the firm’s products and services

1. Access information such as essential social and political networks

1. Recruiting and retaining employees

1. Increasing productivity by enhancing morale

1. Improving employee skills, such as:

5. Written and verbal communication skills

5. Organizational and time-management skills

5. People skills, such as caring, listening, and negotiating

5. Budgeting and allocation skills

5. Survival skills, including stress management and priority setting

***You will have to determine the company’s goals/objectives in order to be able to determine what will best meet its needs and complement its core values and competencies.

Research is an important component of a Team Analytical Research Report.

You will need to read newspaper, magazine, and journal articles on the topic to find out what companies do, why they do it, and how they do it. You learned how to properly cite in APA (or should have) in the prerequisite for this course Eng 101, so make sure you provide flawless parentheticals and references pages. Research is a crucial part of a research report. Legitimate sources must be cited in the APA format. An APA Reference page with corresponding in-text parentheticals in proper APA style is compulsory.

The analytical report will be in the form of a research/advanced persuasion report and will focus on the use of the Internet and library as research tools. Your group will be required to research companies and recommend to an organization of your choice that it adopt a new or modify an existing community outreach program to meet its business needs. Use a real company and real information, facts, happenings, etc. Research other companies with similar programs or those that have or could benefit by adopting a corporate outreach program. In addition, your own thinking will be part of your analysis, alternative solutions, recommended solution and implementations. This is a formal document that requires research and utilization of skills you have learned thus far through reading, instruction, research, investigation, and preparation for assignments. You should be able to explain why your choice is the most viable, and refute other alternatives. I expect to see an in-depth analysis with reader benefits.

Think of this report as an extension of the case analysis exercises we have been performing this semester. Remember, the case analysis approach should be applied to the research/problem solving aspect of this report. To begin, find a business (not a government or social issue) problem that interests you and your team.

About teamwork: This is a team-based project, which means everyone gets the same grade. Please do not come to me crying, ranting, and gossiping about your team members as my response will always be the same (disappointment) and I will tell you that you need to talk to them instead, and make it work. In the real world, if you complained about your team, you will never get asked to work on projects, and never be promoted to any supervisory positions. Complainers eventually get fired, innovators and those who help everyone improve are management material. The world works in teams, so get used to it, and start making it work now. Yes, people do not work at the same level as you or may not have the same talents, but it is up to you to find everyone’s strong points or hidden talents, and make it work. Lead the team, instead of sabotaging it. Your future bosses promote positive thinking, forward moving leaders.

FORMAT & GUIDELINES

· One-inch margins, 11 or 12-point font; paginate all pages

· Left justify & single space all documents, double space between paragraphs

· Indent bulleted lists, quoted material, and visuals (tables, charts, graphs, pictures)

· 13 minimum sources with parenthetical (in-text citations) and an APA Reference page. At least one book and two peer-reviewed articles. Failure to use proper APA reference page, APA citations or not citing all references in the body of the paper will result in a substantial grade reduction

· 12+ pages (the body of the paper) – does not include cover page, TOC, LOF, or reference pages.

The TARP report will include the following items in the following order:

· Cover Page - The project report starts with an APA style cover page

· Table of Contents - The table of contents lists every part of the report—all primary, secondary and tertiary headings—along with page numbers. Headings should be informative or talking headings, increase skim value, and should correspond to the headings in the body of the report.

· List of Figures - List of any figures you have used with page numbers

· Executive Summary - An executive summary gives an overview of the main findings of the report along with conclusions and recommendations. It should not be longer than one page. It should be divided into three sections: Purpose, Main Findings, Recommendation and Implementation.

· Project Scope - The scope definition states exactly what the client and consultant agreed upon at the start of the engagement. For example, your client may place a monetary cap on the corporate outreach program or may insist that you develop a program that reflects the firm’s core values. In other words, the scope identifies what is and is not included within the project boundaries.

· Project Objectives - The objectives state why the project was conducted. What is the purpose of this study and what does it intend to achieve? Do not make specific recommendations in this section. Instead, you want to present your criteria for assessing a viable program that fits the firm’s business objectives.

· Methodology - The methodology identifies what research methods you used to collect pertinent information and data and why you chose those methods. Did you use library research methods, interviews, or surveys, for example?

· Findings - The findings present an analysis of the information gathered from primary and secondary sources and indicate what the consultant or project team identified as problems and/or opportunities for improvement. Divide the findings into sections and subsections in which you evaluate the significance for your client of the collective wisdom and best practices concerning corporate outreach. Analyze at least three viable alternatives that you explored. All sources should be cited in text using APA style.

· Recommendations - The recommendations describe which alternative you recommend the company adopt. It should be comprehensible to the reader who has not read the rest of your report.

· Business Impact - The business impact describes the value to your client’s organization if your recommendation is implemented. This usually includes benefits to be derived from the recommended solution and costs associated with implementation.

· Implementation Considerations - The implementation considerations describe what the requirements and barriers to implementation are and what dependencies upon other projects may be evident. For example, how many employees will be recruited? Might some employees resist participation? Will this project interfere with or enhance other company projects, such as a new branding campaign?

· Next Steps - The next steps list things like the recommended priorities, sequences, and personnel requirements for implementation. This usually includes a proposed schedule that shows things like timeframes for specific actions and activities, such as organizational meetings with nonprofits and responsible employees, event dates, etc.. Gantt charts are useful graphics in this section. The TARP/Consultant’s Report is action oriented. Impact, Implementation, Next Steps are, in effect, the equivalent of a call to action in all persuasive messages. If the company adopts your recommendation, how will it affect the bottom line? What material, financial, and human resources must the company allocate to your proposed outreach program in order to make it work both for the company and for the aid recipients? What actual steps or actions should the company take in order to marshal the material, financial, and human resources needed to get this project off the ground? When should each action be taken?

· Conclusion - The conclusion brings the entire report together by briefly stating what has been achieved and what the future outlook is for the success of the program.

· References - (APA Style) The references page(s) provide a list of all sources cited in the body of the report. 13 sources is the minimum. At least one book reference and two peer-reviewed articles (journals).

· Appendices – (optional) Includes supporting documentation and other appropriate materials too bulky to include in the body of the report, such as survey and interview data, sample sign-up sheets, brochures, fliers, and other forms of announcements.

Brochure or flier: Each TARP must include a brochure or flier. It is a Buad 301 class requirement that you must design either a brochure or flier. You may use any type of flier or brochure; make sure to include it with your TARP report.

PLEASE staple the report, no bulky binders/folders, page protectors or paper clips.

ORAL PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

Parameters: - The group oral presentation will be 15-20 minutes and supported by PowerPoint. Please be prepared for audience questions as part of your grade. (FYI – the question and answer portion does not count toward your 15-20 minute presentation requirement) A printed copy of your PowerPoint (no minimum slides) presentation (in “handout” form – six per page please) must be turned in on the day of your presentation. Individual oral presentation grades are based on eye contact (careful using notes or cards), physical presentation, voice, clarity, effectiveness, whether you are insipid, moribund or dynamic up there. If I cannot hear or understand you, it will affect your grade. It is a Buad 301 class requirement you must dress for business and speak a minimum of three minutes. How prepared and well you work with and present as a group are additional grading parameters. Review the S.P.E.A.K.S. rubric posted on TITANium for places where you may improve your presentation skills. Note: Long or excessive videos are not a presentation, that is showing videos. Avoid all videos and audience-based participatory exercises.

Note: If you decide to use Macs or Google docs, be prepared for problems with proper displaying, formatting, and opening your presentation. If you are spending more than one-minute struggling to open, display, or convert your presentation to a PC or PowerPoint format, I will start your time and take points off for not being prepared. You must be tech-savvy, have everything working and ready to go on time in business.

01/13/19