Statement of purpose

Student Research Team:

Justin Biermann, Ethan Wadkins, Ashlee Eastman

Ward Edwards

University of Central Missouri

Warrensburg, MO 64093

September 5, 2017

Business Communication 3325

MWF 10am class 3612

University of Central Missouri

Warrensburg, MO 64093

Dear classmates,

Do you drink water? As experienced group coordinators, we plan to gather teams to research a problem

that affects each of us, the lack of filtered water in WDE. It’s time to tap that! As students of UCM, we

believe every student deserves adequate access to filtered water throughout the day. Our leadership

experienced team plans on outlining our research plan in an organized and relatable way. Our goal is to

collect research regarding the availability of filtered water in Ward Edwards only. We will only be

performing research, not implementing a solution. Our team is a blast to work with because we are

experienced in team management, organized with schedules, and communicate effectively. We plan on

shedding light on this very serious problem. Our plans in this proposal is to outline staffing, budget, and

our schedule.

Background, Problem and Purpose

To start gaining a better understanding of Warrensburg water, we looked into our local water samples.

While within legal limits, there are high levels of some chemicals that can adversely affect taste and in

some cases health (PWSD No.3. 2016).We also researched what other colleges did to battle problems

related to water. We found many colleges reduced or banned plastic water bottles in the vending

machines and store to become more environmentally friendly. A movement called Ban the Bottle has

begun to spread across the U.S. Many campaigns promoting sustainability are also starting up, which

includes, “Take Back the Tap” at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and “Tap that” at Vassar College

(Fishman, July 2007).

As a sustainability project partnering with “drink local”, Princeton University students made a proposal to

lower the use of plastic water bottles on campus. As the first steps to banning plastic bottles, four interns

sought to gather facts and finding regarding the local water and the effects of plastic bottles on the

environment as well as the cost disadvantages. In their final report, the students determined offering

reusable bottles to all incoming freshman and transfer students as well as adding many drink refilling

stations on campus would highly benefit this cause.

The students found that nearly 50,000 bottles of water were used in the United States in a one-year

period; this has a major impact on the environment as it takes 2000 times the energy to create bottled

water than to filter tap water. These students started a movement that caused Princeton to ban plastic

water bottles in their stores, cafeterias, and vending machines (Dorottia Demszky, 2014). The largest

problem when looking at banning plastic water bottles was the increase in students drinking soft drinks

instead of water. Ironically, in a study performed at the University of Vermont, researchers found the

number of bottles being thrown away increased as sales of soft drinks increased (Kingkade, 2007).

Due to this insight, we strongly believe banning water bottles is inappropriate when looking at

environmental benefits. That being said, we also believe increasing bottled water does not make sense

either as it would cost the students more and have higher environmental effect. This logic led us to

believe the only way to increase the amount of water without having an environmental impact would be

to add more water filling station in Ward Edwards building. This leads us to our research objective. Do

students, faculty, and staff believe the lack of filtered water in WDE is a problem? Would adding water

filling stations be of enough benefit to be worth the cost? These are the questions we plan to ask and

observe.

Students and faculty are currently forced to get filtered water from one water source that runs out

frequently. As the lack of filtered water affects each of us, our goal is to measure interest in adding more

sources of filtered water. Our goal is to measure interest in providing filtered water and gauge the number

of sources that would be needed.

Proposal, Plan and Schedule

In an effort to better the water drinking experience of faculty, professors, undergraduates, and graduate

students, we will conduct surveys and interviews after splitting into teams to tackle the perspective of

each demographic. The research objectives will be managed by a Gantt chart. We will have a list of tasks

to be completed and have a signup sheet for members in order to ensure that people are able to complete

the tasks that they are best suited for. If more than one student signs up for the same task, a small speech

will be made and a vote will be cast. We will have an election for 4 ‘team trackers’. These ‘team trackers’

will act as monitors to keep each team on track. These monitors will be in communication with each other

in order to make sure the team as a whole is coordinating effectively.

Survey. We will be conducting surveys to better understand the standpoints from undergraduates,

graduates, staff, and faculty. The surveys will measure the intensity of the problem and the interest for

solving the problem. Surveys will be conducted in a two week period.

Interviews. We will be interviewing graduates, undergraduates, staff, and faculty to better understand

their personal experiences with the lack of filtered water in Ward Edwards. By conducting these

discussions, we hope to gain a better insight on the problem and the personal thoughts of those affected

by it. Interviews will be held in a week and a half time frame.

Schedule. The following list details our research tasks:

o Coordinate team schedules o Assign team tasks and tasks within each team o Create surveys and interview questions o Schedule survey and interview times o Perform surveys and interviews o Collect data o Organize data o Analyze data o Brainstorm conclusions o Outline report o Draft report o Proofread report o Present report

In Figure A, you can see our Gantt chart indicates our scheduled research. The times to conduct our

research will be from Wednesday, October 18 to Monday, November 6. Our research will consist of

interviewing and surveying our four target perspectives.

Figure A

Research

Tasks

WED

10/18

FRI

10/20

MON

10/23

WED

10/25

FRI

10/27

MON

10/30

WED

11/1

FRI

11/3

MON

11/6

Undergraduate

Surveys

Graduate

Surveys

Faculty

Surveys

Staff Surveys

Undergraduate

Interviews

Graduate

Interviews

Faculty

Interviews

Staff

Interviews

By using interviews and surveys, we intend to get the perspectives from the following people:

 Undergraduate students

 Graduate Students

 Faculty

 Staff By evaluating the perspectives from these groups, we will get a wide understanding of the issue and be

fully prepared to find an effective solution.

Staffing and Budget With experience in team leadership, strong communication, and diverse talents, our team is prepared to

move this proposal forward at a low cost, both monetary and resource.. Our team consist of Justin

Biermann, Ethan Wadkins, and Ashlee Eastman. Justin is a business management major and on the

leadership council for the football team. As a former charity director in IBE, he is experienced in team

dynamics and always prepared with the necessary resources. Ethan is an aviation major who values a

hands-on approach and strong communication. With a variety of skills, Ethan is also our team handy man.

As a supervisor in his current job, he is well versed in organizing teams and politely giving input. Ashlee

is a marketing major and former head of social media marketing in IBE. Her current field as a financial

analyst proves her to be good at organization and crunching the numbers. Her experience also includes

leading 12 canned food drives and being the former editor of her school’s newspaper.

Necessary Resources. The following list details the necessary resources:

 Time

 Laptops

 Phones

 Camera

 Calculator

In Figure B, the time expectations of each team member has been outlined. We estimate each individual

will need to dedicate a total of twenty-three hours to the successful completion of this research project.

Figure B

Activity Time

Team Meetings 1 hour (3 weeks) = 3 hours

Weekly Research Tasks 2 hours (3 weeks) = 6 hours

Writing Tasks 2 hours (1 weeks) = 2 hours

Revising Tasks 2 hours (1 week) = 2 hours

Prepare for Presentation 1 hours (1 week) = 1 hours

Total 14

Authorization Request

We are very pleased to bring attention to the lack of water filtration in WDE while allowing student

involvement and collaboration on a large issue that effects all of those in Ward Edwards. This research

project will also increase the discussion between graduates, undergraduates, staff, and faculty.

By joining us on this research project, we would like to highlight a few benefits. There is a low cost as

only your time is needed. We plan on keeping the team set up as flat as possible while staying effective.

Our research will be conducted in Ward Edwards, a place we all frequent. The greatest benefit is knowing

you are part of the research team looking into a problem that affects everyone in this building.

Classmates, with your authorization, we will love to begin our research project on Wednesday, October

18. It’s time to tap the water problem!

In order to authorize, please sign and return the duplicate copy.

_____________________

References

Dorottia Demszky, R. Z. (2014). Bottle vs. Tap Water: Impact Assessment. SUstainability at Princeton.

Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America: Princeton University.

[email protected], (2016, November 23). Ban the Bottle. Retrieved from

https://www.banthebottle.net/ban-the-bottle-campaign/

Kingkade, T. (2007, July 14). When The University Of Vermont Banned Bottled Water, Students Drank

More Unhealthy Beverages. Retrieved from Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/university-of-vermonts-removal-of-bottled-water-caused-

students-to-drink-more-unhealthy-beverages_us_55a58255e4b04740a3de4e85

PWSD No.3. (2016). 2016 Annual Water Quality Report. Warrensburg: PWSD No.3.