ENT4412_research_paperDL.pdf
ENT 4412 – ENTREPRENEURIAL FINANCE COURSE RESEARCH PAPER 1 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to enable you to apply the concepts and ideas that you learn in class. Its intention is to complement your understanding of the measurable objectives. It is good practice on performing research, using the library and internet, organizing and presenting your ideas in writing and creating a presentation to inform and convince others about your conclusions. It is an individual research paper. Florida National College is embarking on a Quality Enhancement Program (QEP) named ’Write it Right’ to improve writing skills of the student body. In order to align with this program I will be stringent in grading these papers to insure they meet the requirements stated below. I strongly suggest you visit the Writing Lab in Room 413 at the Hialeah Campus for help with writing your paper. 2 TOPIC You will be required to develop an opening, management, and financing plan for an entrepreneurial firm. The firm you choose can be at any stage of development: startup, early stage, growth, ma- ture, etc. At the heart of any new venture is an idea for a product or service, and the belief that it is achievable. To begin this project, students need to determine their area of interest from which to create a viable business. A good business plan is essential to leading entrepreneurs to a strong strategy and successful execution of a business endeavor!!! The plan should be a cohesive, well-written document that analyzes and presents sections such as the following: 1. Executive Summary 2. Management and Organization 3. Product or Service Plan 4. Marketing Plan 5. Operating and Control Systems 6. Growth Plan 7. Financial Plan 8. Supporting Documents/Appendices You may find and use Business Plan templates found on the Web. The following are very good on- line resources: http://www.score.org/ , and also http://www.sba.gov/ . Within these two sites, in- vestigate http://www.score.org/resources/business-plans-financial-statements-template-gallery , and http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business. Support your work with citations, including at least three sources from outside of the text used for this course. 3 DEADLINES Refer to the “Assignments” tab for the paper submission due date. LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. 1 http://www.score.org/ http://www.sba.gov/ http://www.score.org/resources/business-plans-financial-statements-template-gallery http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business 4 ORGANIZATION Write the research paper in APA format. This format includes: title page, identifying the subject, the authors, the course, professor, term and date. Following are the introduction, statement of objectives, narrative body, conclusion and finally the bibliography. If you need help with APA style there are excellent resources in the Florida National College library and in the Writing Lab located in Room 413 at the Hialeah Campus. In addition, the following is a very good online resources: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/664/1 For help with citations visit http://www.citationmachine.net/. Many students lose grade points because they do not take the trouble to structure, footnote or provide the paper and bibliography correctly in APA format; don’t let this be you! Excluding the title page and bibliography, your paper should be five to seven pages in length double-spaced. You could add one or two more pages if you need them for your arguments. Less than five pages would not be enough for full explanation of the issues. Times New Roman, font size 12. A PowerPoint presentation is not a paper and will not earn any grade. You must submit your paper via email on or before the due date. 5 GRADING As stated in the Syllabus your Research Paper is worth 25% of your grade. Your paper grade is based on six criteria: Quality of research - 15 points; Organization and clarity - 15 points; Quality of analysis - 20 points; Grammar, spelling and punctuation - 15 points; Topic and questions fully addressed - 15 points; Paper formatted in APA format - 20 points Work submitted late will not be accepted. 6 OTHER GUIDELINES AND NOTES I expect this assignment be written at college-level. That means that it should have few, if any, grammar and usage mistakes. It is your responsibility and to your benefit to learn to write such papers. There is a difference between speaking and writing; I require papers that respect the rules of writing. Attend one of the tutoring classes offered at Florida National College or do a Google search if you are unclear about the writing rules. Assignments that do not meet this standard will be graded down accordingly. If you are the only one that has read your paper, it is a draft, not a completed work, and this will be reflected in your grade. Grammar mistakes are a clear sign that you have not shown your paper to anyone. Spelling mistakes are sloppy work and will not be tolerated in this age of word processing spell checkers. There is no excuse for Microsoft Word to underline it in red unless it is a technical term or a proper name. Wikipedia is a helpful starting point, however, it is not acceptable as a source to cite. If you want to use the information in your paper, figure out where Wikipedia got it from and cite that after making sure the information is there. All information on the web is not necessarily correct! Use websites maintained by official organizations when possible. Support your work with citations, including at least three sources from outside the text used for this course. Finally, I encourage you to prepare an outline to clarify your ideas and organize your paper. I will give you feedback on your outline and draft provided you submit them to me at least one week before the paper due date. Start your paper early so that it can clearly reflect your abilities. 2 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/664/1 http://www.citationmachine.net/ 7 UNPLEASANT STUFF Plagiarism and other academic misconduct, such as cheating, is unexcusable and will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is defined in the Florida National College Student Handbook as: Plagiarism is the act of obtaining or attempting to obtain credit for academic work by representing the work of another as one’s own without the necessary and appropriate acknowledgment. More specifically, plagiarism is: The act of incorporating the ideas, words of sentences, paragraphs, or parts thereof without appropriate acknowledgment and representing the product as one’s own work; and The act of representing another’s intellectual work such as musical composition, computer program, photographs, painting, drawing, sculpture, or research or the like as one’s own.1 If you are still unsure of what plagiarism is, review the rules of original writing at http://owl. english.purdue.edu/ and http://www.indiana.edu/~istd. These sites give excellent information and provide examples of plagiarism. Please note that collaboration with other students is a form of plagiarism and is not permitted unless I give you permission to do so. Still in doubt? Check with me or with a librarian. I have ways of checking, and will check every paper, for plagiarism. If I find that you plagiarized, even in innocence, your grade for the paper will be an ’F’. You have been warned and, yes, it is harsh. This is a College level course. If you cheat, did you really learn how to write a research paper? 1http://www.fnc.edu/contents/publications.htm 3 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ http://www.indiana.edu/~istd INTRODUCTION TOPIC DEADLINES ORGANIZATION GRADING OTHER GUIDELINES AND NOTES UNPLEASANT STUFF