Research paper (organizational theory & behavior) (graduate school) | mgmt 630 | University of Maryland University College

Research Report Assignment: 2500 words report A 10-page (+-10%) report on what you have learned about your hedgehog theoretical topic.

This assignment will represent your interest in the organizational theory topic and your point of view about it within the context of research, information, cases, and related theories from the organizational management literature.

· You will develop a clear and concise thesis and description of the theory topic, using scholarly research in APA format.

· You will review and analyze the work of scholars on the topic and will reference at least one relevant case study (from the literature and/or from your own experience).

· You will evaluate the contributions of other management theorists, synthesize their work, and propose your own approach, view, or solution(s) to the issue, integrating the theory as much as possible within the other theoretical organizational concepts.

· In the final 2 paragraphs you will evaluate your own process of learning (meta-analysis) relative to the entire process from the moment you chose this hedgehog topic to the point where you are turning in the final version of your research report.

Section 1 – Introduction – Thesis Statement of the Theory and its Importance to Organizations and to You (based on the introduction to your annotated bibliography assignment)

· State the issue or question clearly and concisely. The organizational management issue or question must be stated with clarity so that any adult reader could understand it.

· Explain in a compelling and persuasive manner why the organizational management issue or question is important to managers (and back up these claims with facts, data, and/or logic). The importance of the problem, issue, or question must be stated persuasively, using authoritative sources and/or logic to back up assertions that are made.

· Explain in a compelling and persuasive manner why the organizational management issue or question is important to you as a manager or potential manager.

Section 2 – Body – Discovery and Analysis of Work by Published Organizational Theorists

· Investigate the organizational management issue or question by consulting at least 5 authoritative and relevant sources of information. The sources of information about the issue or question must be directly relevant to the topic (as described in the introduction) and must be authoritative (from peer reviewed sources). Non scholarly literature may be used but only above and beyond the minimum number of scholarly sources. (The basis for this portion is your annotated bibliography.)

· Present a well-rounded representative sample of authoritative perspectives on the organizational management issue or question. Differing theorists AND points of view should be represented. Putting the issue or question into a contextual relationship with other organizational theory concepts is especially important.

· Look at the issue through the lens of a particular instance such as an organizational case study. Apply the theory to a particular organizational issue or setting

Section 3 – Conclusion – What Do You Think? What Would You Do as a Manager?

· Present your own perspective on the management issue or question and compare this perspective to the perspectives of authorities on the subject. 

· Apply the ideas of others as well as your own ideas to the issue or question in a way that could directly benefit a relevant organization or industry. Consider the issues involved in applying a “solution” or “approach.”

· Include a short (2 paragraph) meta-analysis of the entire experience, starting with the interest survey at the beginning of the course, continuing through the issue identification, library research experience, case study, the essay, the mid-term assessment, and the research report. Synthesize this experience into a reflection on the process and the outcome. 

Also attaching annotated bibliography which summarizes my thesis statement. 

Attaching example paper