teram paper

Portland State University

School of Business Administration

BA 301: Research and Analysis of Business Problems

BA 301 Term Paper – Common Errors

Past experience has shown that there a number of common errors / shortcomings on the term papers. I encourage you to review these issues carefully and keep them in mind when you perform your research and write your paper.

A Business Document

This is a business document and should be written in a fairly formal fashion. The use of phrases such as “I think” and “I will show that” and “Next we should look at” is both unnecessary and inappropriate. Write with confidence and don’t waste words with phrases like this. Similarly, don’t waste time and space telling me things like “It is important to consider stakeholders.” and “A decision matrix is a useful tool to help evaluate alternatives.” and “It is important to prioritize the company’s problems.” Use the tools we developed during the term and demonstrate that you have mastered these concepts by applying them to the business situation and problems you are analyzing instead of using statements like this to convince me that you understand the concepts.

A Good Problem Statement

It is almost impossible to write a good paper if you don’t write a strong problem statement since about 80% of the paper is driven by the problem you identify. If your problem statement isn’t good, it’s almost impossible to analyze and communicate how potential solutions would solve the problem, which solution is best suited to the problem, and to build the business case for your recommended solution.

This is one of the most important determinants of whether your paper will be an “A” or “B” or something less. We will spend 10 weeks working on problem statements and when you write yours, make sure that you (1) describe the gap between the current performance and the desired performance or a similar shortcoming and (2) don’t include a presumed solution as your problem. “ABC Company needs to change xxxxxxx ” IS NOT a problem statement; it is a predetermined recommended action related to some perceived unstated problem.

Besides describing the performance gap, make sure you clearly describe the alternative solutions you identify and how each of those would or would not solve the problem and eliminate or reduce the performance gap.

Plan Ahead

Recognize that your paper and the group project all come due in the last few weeks of the term. If you let everything go, you won’t be able to do a good job on everything you have to do at once. Plan ahead.

Plan Ahead 2 - Start Your Paper Early

It is very easy to tell whether the work on a paper was started early (i.e. 6 weeks or so before the paper was due) or whether it was started in the last week or so. Those students who start early consistently do a better job of applying the tools we discuss early in the course since those are still fresh in their minds. More importantly, those who start at least a month before the paper is due prepare better papers virtually every time.

Besides starting early, work on your paper a little every week as we progress through the course and introduce new tools. Most papers I’ve seen start off very good with strong discussions of Position and Sense. However, many of those papers fall down when the later sections are not complete or where the author just “ran out of gas.” By the last few sections of the paper (the Build and Achieve sections) many papers that started off as an “A” have dropped to a “B” or even lower.

The Paper is an Analysis, Not a Report

This paper is an analysis of an existing problem, the solutions which should be considered, and your recommendation for which solution the company should pursue, and WHY. The paper isn’t a report in which you describe what the company did and how it worked out.

Communicate Clearly

In order for you to get a good grade on the paper, I must be able to understand what you are saying and it is imperative that I be able to follow the logic of your analysis and recommendations. I have seen many papers which included excellent research and the author appeared to really have a solid grasp of the issues but, the paper included very long, rambling sentences and paragraphs which included numerous different thoughts. As a result, it was almost impossible to follow the logic and analysis of the author.

Writing isn’t a skill that’s important just for students; it’s a skill that is critical for success in business. Rest assured that, even if you have the greatest business ideas in the world, if your boss can’t read your reports and follow the logic of your recommendations, your future success is limited.

So, how can you make sure you communicate clearly? Here are a handful of suggestions (in no particular order)…..

(1) When your paper is substantially complete, get someone else to read your paper carefully and explain it back to you. If they can’t tell you the main problem and the alternatives and the recommended solution and why it’s the best solution and how it should be implemented, then it’s unlikely that I will be able to ferret this out of your paper either.

(2) Don’t write long sentences and paragraphs that include too many different thoughts. Keep them short and then use transitions between thoughts to reinforce your points.

(3) Do use bolded or underlined subheadings to break up long sections of material in which multiple thoughts are discussed. For instance, instead of writing 3 or 4 pages telling about the alternative solutions for a problem, try setting each alternative up under a separate subheading with that subhead giving 4 or 5 words describing that alternative. Set separate thoughts apart so that they don’t all flow together in the reader’s mind. I know few of you will take the time to do a thorough outline but, preparing an outline will help immensely in this regard.

(4) Consider whether graphics and similar information should be incorporated into the body of your paper or included in the appendices. Sometimes supporting information helps more by including it later (and referring to it in the body with something like “See Appendix A”) instead of inserting it in the body. Ask yourself, does this information help explain my logic right here or is it really more background information. I know this is a fine line but, use appendices to include information without breaking up the flow of your logical arguments and it will be easier for the reader to follow what you are saying.

(5) Clean up typos, grammar, and awkward language. Instead of writing your paper the day before it’s due (or the day it’s due in some cases), try to finish a few days ahead of time and then set it aside for a day or two to clear your mind. Then, go back and read it with a fresh set of eyes and you’ll catch many of the errors you will miss if you try to proof it when you’re tired or have been working on it for a number of hours.

Make Sure You are Clear and Specific

There are some things that need to be written so clearly that they almost jump off the page:

(1) What problems and issues does this company face? Which are mission critical? Which are urgent?

(2) What is the main problem you are addressing? Why is this one more critical than the others?

(3) What alternative solutions have you found that would solve the problem or improve the situation? What are the relative benefits and consequences of each?

(4) What solution do you recommend? Why do you recommend this one?

The answers to these questions comprise a large part of this paper. Make sure it’s easy for the reader to identify this information.

Use the Tools We Developed During the Course

You don’t have to use everything we discuss during the course but, I’m expecting to see at least a few. Think fishbone diagrams, mind maps, weighted criteria decision matrices, lists of pros and cons, Gantt and Pert charts, cost benefit analyses, feasibility analyses, and the other tools we talked about. If you don’t use some of these, you’re giving away points on the paper.

Finish the Job

As I mentioned before, a lot of papers start off very strong and then gradually each section gets shorter than the previous one and lacks a thorough discussion and analysis. I’ve seen any number of papers with a very thorough 4-page discussion of Position and a very poor, one half page discussion of Build and only a few sentences for Achieve at the end.

Among the reasons this happens sometimes is that students don’t always realize that they need to change their mental approach over the course of this paper. What I mean is that the first couple of sections – Position and Sense – are in many ways like a report where you write information and facts that you have learned through your research. By Uncover, your mental approach MUST start to change as you begin to analyze the information more and understand and explain the cause and effect relationships that are the drivers of the problems you’ve found. This isn’t just reading your research notes and writing them on your paper any more. The information is coming from your analysis. By the Solve section, you should be applying and writing about your understanding of the company, the problem(s), the causes, and all the environmental factors and determining what YOU believe to be the best solution and why.

When I asked one student why her paper was not really complete and the last 2 sections were short and lacked the same excellent quality that the start of her paper did, she told me that by Build and Achieve she felt like she was “just making things up.” In some ways this is true since you may not have sufficient real life information in this academic project to do a thorough cost benefit or feasibility analysis and you will definitely need to create the information to prepare an implementation plan for your recommended solution. I fully understand that you may need to estimate or even just guess at some costs and benefits and that much of the Achieve section is your own creation. That’s okay – the only expectation I have is that you develop the things you “make up” using some solid logic and critical thinking.

Citations

It is great if you include charts and graphs and tables of information from your research if they are applicable and help describe the company and the issues. Make sure that you provide your source for these just as you would cite sources in the text of your paper.

Also, spend some time checking on MLA requirements and make sure that your citations and bibliography meet those requirements. I’m not going to be upset if you have a very unusual type of source and it doesn’t quite fit MLA guidelines but, most of your reference sources will have a very well documented format for preparing the citations.

This is Business 101

Finally, understand that the ability to think logically in analyzing business situations and write clearly is fundamental to all careers as a professional in business.

 

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