Question Team Assignment #1 Project Selection (Week 1)

30 May Question Team Assignment #1 Project Selection (Week 1)

Question
Team Assignment #1 Project Selection (Week 1)

Purpose: Encourage students to begin looking at various companies and their projects to understand the multi-faceted role of a project manager and the beginning steps of project selection.

Outcomes Met With This Assignment:

contribute to a team activity to accomplish the goals of a project, recognizing the unique strengths and talents of individual team members

identify, analyze, and evaluate the factors that contribute to the project selection process

Instructions:

This assignment is the first of seven group assignments. As a group, you will begin to look at various business organizations and assess different projects that could be aligned with the organization’s strategic plan. Students will select a company and identify three potential projects that align with the organization’s strategy. As a team, you will select a single project that will form the basis for virtually all of the assignments in the course.

NOTE: All submitted work is to be your original work. You may not use any work from another student, the Internet or an online clearinghouse. You are expected to understand the Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism Policy, and know that it is your responsibility to learn about instructor and general academic expectations with regard to proper citation of sources as specified in the APA Publication Manual, 6th Ed. (Students are held accountable for in-text citations and an associated reference list only.)

Step 1: Preparation for Writing the Assignment

Before you begin writing the paper, read the following requirements that will help you meet the writing and APA requirements. Not reading this information will lead to a lower grade.

Read the grading rubric for the assignment. Use the grading rubric while writing the paper to ensure all requirements are met. In writing this assignment, you will read and follow these tasks:

Task 1: Third person writing is required. Third person means that there are no words such as “I”, “me”, “my”, “we”, or “us” (first person writing), nor is there use of “you” or “your” (second person writing). If uncertain how to write in the third person, view this link: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/first-second-and-third-person.

Task 2: Contractions are not used in business writing, so you are expected NOT to use contractions in writing this assignment.

Task 3: You are expected to paraphrase and NOT use direct quotes. You are expected to paraphrase, which can be learned by reviewing this link: https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/QPA_paraphrase2.html.

Task 4: You are responsible for APA only for in-text citations and a reference list. At a minimum, this deliverable should include in-text citations and references for information relating to the organization’s purpose, goals, strategy, and/or objectives.

Task 5: You are expected to use the weekly courses readings to develop the analysis and support the reasoning. Students may use external source documents in selecting the company and the projects. The expectation is that you provide a robust use of the course readings. Any material used from a source document (including both course readings and outside materials) must be cited and referenced. A reference within a reference list cannot exist without an associated in-text citation and vice versa. View the sample APA paper located under Week 1 content. There are also APA resources located under Content>>Course Resources.

Step 2: Set Up the Paper

Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced, 12-point font. The final product does not have a page limit but you want to make sure to write clearly and concisely.

Follow this format. Consider making an outline to ensure the correct headings are in place and to help you organize the paper.

Title page with title, your names, the course, the instructor’s name; date

Introduction

The organization your group selected (including why)

Potential projects

Project selection

Summary paragraph

Step 3: Brainstorm

Task 1: Under Discussion on the main navigation bar, locate your group.

Task 2: In the LEO classroom (do not use external systems), participate in a brainstorming and collaboration session with your project team to select your organization. To assist in the selection process, review the organization’s corporate strategy from their website and/or annual report (e.g., 10-K).

Task 3: Work with the project team to brainstorm three (3) potential projects, each of which aligns with the organization’s strategy/goals.

Step 4: Write the Introduction

Create the introductory paragraph. The introductory paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper and tells a reader the main points covered in the paper. To help you know how to write an introduction, view this website to learn how to write an introductory paragraph: http://www.writing.ucsb.edu/faculty/donelan/intro.html

Step 5: Organization Selection and Rationale

Generate a paragraph that identifies and describes the organization your group selected, along with the reasons why the organization was selected. Identify the organization’s ambitions and/or strategic goals.

Step 6: Potential Projects

Describe each of the three (3) project ideas and how each aligns with the organization’s strategy and/or goals.

Step 7: Project Selection

Task 1: Review the following article on SMART Projects.

Haughey, D. (2016). Smart Goals. Retrieved from https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals.php

Task 2: Work together to explain why you chose the project.

Task 3: Explain the project’s anticipated goals, benefits, and key success criteria.

Task 4: Ensure that each project goal is SMART.

Step 8: Write the summary paragraph

Step 9: Review the Paper

Read the paper to ensure all required elements are present. Use the grading rubric to ensure that you gain the most points possible for this assignment. Proofread the paper for spelling and grammatical issues and third person writing.

Read the paper aloud as a first measure;

Use the spell and grammar check in Word as a second measure;

Have someone who has excellent English skills proofread the paper;

Consider submitting the paper to the Effective Writing Center (EWC). The EWC will provide 4-6 areas that may need improvement.

Step 10: Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.

Have one member of the group submit the paper to the Assignment Folder. Ensure the title page contains the names of only those students who contributed to the assignment.

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