An outline of your proposed research paper should be emailed to your professor for Unit IV. The outline you submit in Unit IV is a non-graded assignment. Your outline must have a clear topic sentence, thesis, and outline of your intended paper. The purpose of this outline is to insure that you have selected a topic relevant to class and to begin early guidance in the paper development process. Your professor may approve, amend, or decline your outline pending resolution of problems. It is therefore recommended that you do not write your Research Paper until you have received professor's approval.

Research Paper

This activity requires you to write a Research Paper on a subject of your choice within Organizational Research and Theory.

Format

The Research Paper must be at least 10 pages in length, not including the cover page and references. CSU requires that students use the APA format in writing course papers. Therefore, the APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed.Your paper must contain at least five professional references and may include internet sources, books, and professional journals or resources related to the profession.

Example topics include:Environments shape organizations. In turn, organizations also shape the environments in which they interact. Organizations, in part, also choose which environments they enter and exit, choose which coalitions are most desirable, and determine the contexts in which they function. Write a paper that draws from the professional literature to address these issues and explains how organizations relate strategically to their environments.

All organizations must secure a continuing supply of resources from their environments. The initial mix of resources mobilized when an organization is created is critical as these resources constitute a structural pattern that tends to persist and is imprinted on organizational members. Develop a paper that addresses these issues; explains how all organizations compete for resources, which describes the consequences and costs of obtaining resources; and how resource attainment varies with the type of organization and environment, as well as with the organization's stage of development.

Organizations utilize lateral relationships as legitimate avenues of information, and influence flows constitute the new generation of organizational forms. Write a paper that explains the number of different lateral structural arrangements in use in organizations, excluding project teams, matrix structures, organic systems, and professional organizations.