Individual Project:

Students will select a business organization and write a research paper:10-12 pages, double-spaced, size 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1" margins.Students must reference all of their research in the text of the paper.The papers must be proof read before final submission.The paper must be free of spelling and grammar mistakes, logically written, and coherent.It should include at least 10 references.

(Suggestion:Select an organization that has a lot of information available and/or where you have access to the management personnel).The students are required to research the selected organization and address the following areas:

1.Organizational Context

include the history, organizational image, size, locations of operation, type of products, and/or services offered

2.Environment in which the Organization Operates (Chapter 3)

Task Environment

customers

suppliers

competitors

regulatory group

General Environment

economic environment

social/cultural environment

political environment

legal environment

technological environment

3.Organizational Form (Chapter 9)

identify organizational form (mechanistic or organic), and analyzes its appropriateness for the environment of the organization.

4.Organization's Mission and Goals (Chapter 5)

state the mission and major/strategic goals

its appropriateness and relevance to organizational history and environment

5.Organization's Strategy (Chapter 6)

identify all of the different level strategies the company has adopted

its relationship with the environment in which organization exists

6.Organizational Structure (Chapter 9)

identify the structure the company has adopted, including the flowchart

appropriateness of structure to the environment, objectives, and strategy

7.Control Features used by the Organization (Chapter 16)

identify all three types of organizational controls (pre-control, con-current control, & feedback control) and discusses where each is used, or should be used, in the organization, with examples.

8.Organizational Culture* (Chapter 3)

"Personality" of each organization, which includes:

important rituals

important symbols and artifacts

relationship with employees

its appropriateness and relevance to organizational history and the culture

* This is one of the more difficult analysis of your project.You will rarely find an article describing the culture of an organization.You will need to read and analyze many articles about the organization, analyze their messages to their various constituencies (e.g., customers, stockholders, etc.), and identify and interpret the symbols that are important to them.This will help you identify their espoused values and basic assumptions of operation.

9.Leadership (Chapter 14)

10.SWOT Analysis (Chapter 6)

provide a table listing all of the strength (S), weakness (W), opportunities (O), and threats (T).

identify between 3 to 5 each of the internal strength (S), and weakness (W), and match them with between 3 to 5 of the external opportunities (O), and threats (T). A sentence should be provided for each point explaining their inclusion.

11.Your Recommendations

The project will be graded by the following criteria:

80%content of the paper including references

10%organization

10%language and grammar