The Abstract for your paper should introduce the organization and the problem that you are addressing, but you are welcome to disguise the name of the organization in the abstract, and in the paper, if you feel like that would be best. Students are asked to keep the information presented in the papers of other students confidential but of course, this is difficult to guarantee. The abstract should include your most important results, conclusions and recommendations. Be very concise. Keep in mind that the purpose of the abstract is to give the reader an overview of your paper so that they can determine whether, or whether not, to read the entire document. You should also include your methodology, such as, survey research, interviews, observations, or a focus group, when applicable.
Your Statement of the Problem needs to explain what your case study will address. You need to convince the reader that the problem is an important one to resolve.
Right after the Statement of the Problem, you should add a section called Descriptive Overview of the Organization. When you give the descriptive overview, you can talk about things like how many people are in the organization, and what the mission is. This is an important part of the paper and it should include an Organizational Chart.
Next, you would have the Problem Background. As an example, your organizational problem could be broad, such as organizational resistance towards the recently proposed branch of the military, called the Space Force. When you focus on a broad situation like this which covers an entire organization, rather than using interviews or a focus group, you would probably glean information from government documents and news articles. On the other hand, for purposes of this project, you might focus on one office, or one individual who is particularly problematic, such as a toxic leader or a toxic colleague.
The Literature Review should be well organized, and subheadings will help with this. Most of the literature that you use for your paper will be added here.
The Problem Analysis section is where you will analyze the organizational situation, and to do so, you will probably cite some of the literature here, to support your position.
Most of the students in the class will not administer a survey or conduct a focus group, but if you go so, this would be the best place to discuss your method of research. I will give one example. A student in a recent class administered a survey. When writing the paper, the Survey Questions were included in an Appendix, and then included the survey responses were added in a table, in another Appendix. The Problem Analysis section of this paper included three subsections, Methods, Results, and Limitations of the Study. The three hypotheses that the survey was designed to test were included in the Methods section.
However, based on my past experience with the Organizational Behavior class, most of you will not be administering a survey, holding a focus group, or conducting interviews. If you do so, then the approach above would be ideal. Many of you will include your personal observations or comments regarding informal conversations or conversations overheard, in the paper.
You will have a Conclusions section followed by a Recommendations section. Dont forget the References, and include Appendices if appropriate.
FAQ for Paper 2, Using the Example of Toxic Leadership
Do I keep the focus of the paper on the toxic leader and what toxicity has done to the organization, or should toxic leadership be describe in general by what the literature says?
Statement of the problem, you might start out by saying something like:
Toxic leadership is something that not only causes damage to the employees but also leads to negative consequences for the organization. This paper will address toxic leadership that is taking place in a large manufacturing organization located on the West Coast, leading to poor morale, turnover, poor quality of products that are produced, and disruption of the supply chain for its customers.
Descriptive Overview of the Organization presents the organization, describe what it does, the key players with the problem above, etc. An org. chart (or another visual) should be provided.
Problem Background you go in-depth here with the organizational problem. You are focusing on the organization that you are working with. This section, the Descriptive Overview of the Organization and the Statement of the Problem forms the heart of the case study.
Literature Review Involves research associated with toxic leadership, including its causes, why it persists, its consequences, and potential solutions.
Problem Analysis You analyze the problem in your organization, using some of the literature above, and theories or models from the textbook might help too, in some cases.
Conclusions Present your conclusions, based on your literature review and your analysis of the problem.
Recommendations Provide recommendations based on the work that you have done above. As a consultant looking in, what are your recommendations for the organization. What other recommendations do you have?
Should we use the headings you gave us for Paper 2, or do we just write the paper all the way through without headings?
You need to use headings throughout the paper. Dont just write it all the way through without headings, because the headings keep it organized. You might even decide to use subheadings. Id rather you have a paper that is a little longer than the upper limit specified for Paper 2 than to not have headings.
How many references are required?
You should have a minimum of six references, which is the same number of references that were required for the first paper. You are welcome to use more than six references if you wish to do so. If you use Personal Communication as a reference, based on an interview with someone, that should be in addition to the six references you use. Be sure to use some journal articles. In fact, most of your references should consist of journal articles. Some of you will also need to use a military newspaper, or some government documents. You are welcome to include several journal articles that have been posted by your classmates, if they are relevant to your paper.
Is the information that I put in Research Report/ Case Study Analysis confidential?
It is very important that each of you keep information that you read in your classmates papers confidential. It is not to be shared with anyone outide of this class. However, if you are concerned, then you are certainly welcome to create a fictitious name for your organization before you turn your paper in.
Can we have an Appendix for Paper 2?
Yes, you may add an Appendix for things like Survey Questions if you have something like that. The page limitations do not apply to the appendix.
Where are Directions for How to Write the Paper?
The syllabus contains detailed directions on how to write the second paper. In addition, I have provided some information previous FAQs and during chats. Sample research papers have also been provided in your modules.
Do I Need to have an Organizational Chart for the Paper?
For most of your papers an organizational chart would be appropriate and should be included. However, if you do not have an organizational chart, you should include some type of visual in the paper.
How do I avoid using the term I, my or me?
For example, if you administer a survey, when you discuss it in the paper, just give your statements rather than starting out with the term I. You are to assume the role of a consultant for purposes of the paper. Some examples of the kinds of statements that I am referring to are provided below:
The survey was pilot-tested with two employees of the organization to be sure that the questions were clear and generated the information that was desired. Based on the pilot test, it was necessary to modify one question.
The survey was administered to eight employees of the Employee Development Division through use of Survey Monkey.
Results of the survey indicated that employees were generally satisfied with leadership of the organization. However, lack of communication was identified as the number one concern of the employees.
What is the difference between the Discussion and the Conclusions section?
Your discussion section can include unexpected findings, implications of the findings, limitations of the findings and a need for additional research on your topic. You could also discuss how your findings are similar to those found in other studies (or not so similar).
A good source to use is the Engago Academy website: https://www.enago.com/academy/discussion-conclusion-know-difference-drafting-manuscript/Links to an external site.
The conclusions section ties things together. You might highlight an opportunity for additional study as a follow-up to what you have done thus far.
This research guide has an excellent sample of a concluding paragraph:
http://www.crlsresearchguide.org/18_Writing_Conclusion.aspLinks to an external site.
Again, the Engago Academy website can also be helpful:
https://www.enago.com/academy/discussion-conclusion-know-difference-drafting-manuscript/Links to an external site.
What should my recommendations section include:
You are able to express your own opinion about your case study analysis, in the recommendations section of your paper. You can recommend solutions that you feel would be most beneficial for the organization.
The two links below will give you some ideas for the recommendations section:
https://www.slideshare.net/Case-Study-Format/case-study-writing-expert-recommendationsLinks to an external site.
https://www.papermasters.com/conclusions_recommendations.html
Is there a maximum length for Paper 2?
Paper 2 paper will be 10 pages to 11 pages, most likely. That is an approximation
and if slightly shorter or slightly longer, that is okay. Additional materials can be
added to an Appendix if applicable. For example, someone might have a two
page survey with the responses compiled, or focus group questions with the
qualitative responses beneath each question, and will add this to an Appendix.
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