week 5 final

Final Paper As the global marketplace becomes increasingly more competitive, it is incumbent upon human

resources to broaden its strategic mission and become a strategic partner with executive staff.

This requires human resources to have a detailed understanding of not only the human

resources field, but the strengths and challenges of its organization, and the complexities of its

industry. Through these units of knowledge, human resources can maximize its value by

providing competent advice and counsel to its organization as it strives to achieve its strategic

objectives.

The comprehensive Final Paper comprises four parts, with Parts 1, 2, and 3 submitted during

the first three weeks of the course. In Week 5, a cohesive final paper will be due that includes

Part 4, an executive summary, and the previously submitted Parts 1, 2, and 3. This final paper

should be eight to ten pages and should incorporate any comments or suggestions made by the

instructor on Parts 1, 2, and 3.

Focus of the Final Paper

In your final project, you are to choose a major problem/issue affecting an organization of your

choice, and then utilize your detailed knowledge of human resources and strategic planning to

develop a comprehensive plan that minimizes, and hopefully eliminates, this threat to your

chosen organization’s ability to meet its long-range organizational goals and objectives. The

components of this comprehensive project are as follows:

• Executive Summary: Your final paper should begin with an Executive Summary, which is

an abbreviated capture of the entire paper and as such should touch upon all major

points while engaging the reader.

• Part 1 – Overview of Organization/Problem (due in Week 1): Provide an overview of

the organization and the problem/issue that challenges that organization. Next, detail

how the problem/issue affects (or can affect) the future viability of the organization.

Finally, discuss the principle role of human resources in an organization and how human

resources can provide critical advice and counsel to the organization in addressing this

challenge. This section of the paper should be two to three pages.

• Part 2 – Environment Analysis (due in Week 2): Optimal solutions are determined when

a researcher has a thorough understanding of a company and its industry, along with

the strengths and weaknesses that impact its future viability. In the second part of your

plan, perform a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity, and Threats) on

your chosen organization and provide an analysis of these results in light of the problem

or issue under study. Be attentive to identifying how the problem or issue impacts the

organization and its competitive position within the industry. This section of the paper

should be two to three pages.

• Part 3 – Financial Analysis (due in Week 3): Nearly every problem or issue confronting

an organization has a financial or budgetary impact. For instance, staff turnover has not

only a direct cost on recruitment expenses, training costs, and productivity, but also an

indirect cost related to the loss of organizational learning. In Part 3, detail the financial

implications to the organization related to your problem or issue, including the

additional costs that may arise if the problem or issue is not resolved effectively. This

section of the paper should be two to three pages.

• Part 4 - Recommendations (due in Week 5): The final part of your comprehensive

project incorporates your recommendations. Based on your work in Parts 1, 2, and 3,

provide 2-3 recommendations to organizational leadership that would resolve the

problem/issue in question. Be sure to detail any challenges the organization should

consider in implementing your recommendations (culture, motivation, etc.) and your

strategy to overcome these challenges. This section of the paper should be two to three

pages.

Note that some of the information related to this project may not be readily available in course

materials, requiring you to research contemporary management trends in the public sector.

Writing the Final Paper

The Final Paper

• Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references

pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Writing Center’s APA

Style resource.

• Must include a separate title page with the following:

o Title of paper

o Student’s name

o Course name and number

o Instructor’s name

o Date submitted

• For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting

for Microsoft Word.

• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice resource for additional guidance.

• Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph

needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.

o For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions as well as Writing a Thesis

Statement, refer to the Writing Center resources.

• Must use at least four scholarly sources in addition to the course text.

o The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources table offers additional

guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a

specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor.

Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source

for a particular assignment.

• Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the

Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper guide.

• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as

outlined in the Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List resource in the

Writing Center for specifications.