This assignment asks you to apply one topic from the course to attempt to solve a specific problem that exists in an organization with which you are familiar. That problem should center on a job performance, organizational commitment, or employee well-being issue.

Your paper can focus on either a current or past employer of yours, or some other company with which you have significant familiarity. Whats needed is some knowledge of the inner workings of the company--its struggles, its strengths, its climate, and so forth. The paper should include the following four sections:

1. Organizational Background - Provide just enough details on the company for me to be able to understand the problem that will be described. Resist the urge to provide irrelevant details and feel free to omit or disguise any details that might be sensitive in nature. You are not required to name the company if you would prefer to keep the name confidential
2. Problem - Describe, specifically, one problem that the company is struggling with that will serve as the focus of the paper. Resist the urge to discuss multiple problems--focus on one specific issue with which the organization is struggling. Be sure to focus on a problem that can be impacted by the relevant topic.
3. Topic - Choose one topic from the list below, and apply that topic to gain insight on the problem. Describe very specifically how the concepts, principles, and findings represented in the topic matter to the problem, and how they can be leveraged to articulate a solution. If there is a theory or concept that we discussed that does appear below, but that you believe is important to your problem, please feel free to reach out to me to discuss including it.

• Value-percept theory
• Job characteristics theory
• Challenge-hindrance stressors
• Expectancy theory
• Goal setting theory
• Equity theory
• Psychological empowerment
• Cognition-based trust
• Justice
• Ethical decision making
• Cognitive ability
• Emotional intelligence
• Team processes
• Types of power
• Transformational leadership

4. Recommendations - Provide three very specific recommendations that flow out of the discussion of the topic and that can help solve the problem. In thinking about how to craft the topic into those recommendations, strike a balance between being practical and being bold in your solutions. Every organization has key constraints that need to be considered when designing interventions. Although those should be considered, resist the urge to play it safe, as that tendency often leads to modest interventions, and we are looking for an opportunity to think outside the box and explore novel solutions. For each of your recommendations, explain the specific action steps and an explanation of why you made this recommendation based on the preceding discussion in your paper.

Beyond the parameters above, please bring your own self-expression, initiative, and creativity to the content and style of the paper. 80% of the paper grade will revolve around content issues, with 20% revolving around writing style issues. You will be graded on the organization of your paper, the quality of information included, writing mechanics, sources included, and incorporating material from the course.

You will turn in your 6-page paper on Canvas. The writeup should be in Microsoft Word, using 12-point font, double-spaced.

It is expected that you will use not only the text, but some of the required readings in the course to support your discussion. Appropriate parenthetical citations are expected and an accompanying references page is also required. The reference page does not count towards the 6 page expectation.