8% of the final grade
Purpose:
The thought paper assignment aims to apply concepts learned through course material so far to real-world contexts. At the same time, it allows us to practice our writing and critical thinking skills. It is important to remember that the ability to communicate effectively in the workplace is imperative for being a successful leader and climbing up the corporate ladder.
Formatting:
Papers should be approximately 4-6 pages (that is, the entire document you submit for this assignment should be 4 to 6 pages), double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins. Use complete sentences for responses (no bullet points).
The topic of the paper:
Current Event Report
The objective of this report is to keep you up to date with the leadership obstacles the business world faces today. Please find a current event related to leadership topics covered in this course and read about them from a couple of sources (at least two sources such as newspapers, magazines, podcasts, social media, etc.). After reading about it, draft a report summarizing the issue(s) and perspectives from all sides (if applicable), and apply theories, concepts, and practices from class on how best to solve it and how to prevent it from occurring again. Your chosen events will need to have happened within the last five years. Be sure to include a reference list of your sources.
Please make sure your report includes the following:
1. Summary of the issues—be sure to present all sides of the story.
2. What leadership topic(s) is (are) covered in this event?
3. If it is an adverse event, what could the company(ies) have done to prevent this event from happening? If it is a positive event, how do you think this will impact other companies in the industry?
4. What about this news item caught your interest?
5. What did you learn from this event?
In writing your report, consider the following:
1. The context within which the problem occurred: country, region, state, culture, industry
2. The employee perspective
3. The middle-level manager perspective
4. The customer or client perspective
5. Social implications
There are lots of examples available once you engage with the activity. For example, you might consider what Boeing has been going through because of recent incidents with its airplanes. You may choose to write about AI (from a leadership perspective and following the instructions communicated above). You might want to consider what happened due to Covid-19 to companies such as Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, airlines, hotels, and restaurants. You can select any of these experiences and discuss the leadership implications or how their leadership team responded. If you need help finding examples, feel free to contact me.