Preparation

Reflect on what you have read about RPZ Marketing. Think about what you see as the company's current strengths and opportunities, as well as its potential weaknesses and threats. Choose an aspect of the business that interests you enough to study it further. Make some initial notes about how you might state a specific problem currently facing RPZ. Here is an example of the kind of thinking you might pursue:

I have always been interested in the ways in which leaders guide their organizations through times of change. From reading the RPZ scenarios, it appears that this company is in exactly that kind of situation, having acquired a company that immediately increases its size and reach. On the other hand, it is a situation that could lead to internal conflicts, and could be very difficult to manage. What are the most important things that a leader needs to pay attention to in a situation like this? That's what I'd like to find out more about.

Work through the "Defining Your Topic" section of the Library Research and Information Literacy Skills resources in iGuide. Try both the mind-mapping approach, and the search approach for defining your topic.

Sample Topic Areas

Topics to consider might include the following:

• The importance of strategic planning for acquisitions.
• Deciding to acquire a company or compete with it.
• The decision to supplement consulting staff by outsourcing.
• The viability of training to development additional consulting resources.

Instructions

Select a topic area that interests you, either one of those listed or your own idea. Begin your assignment by providing your answers to the following questions:

1. How would you describe your area of greatest interest in the RPZ case?

2. What ideas, factors, or issues do you believe are most closely related to this area of interest?

3. What are you assuming is true about this situation?

4. What do you think is the major aspect of this area of interest that would be worth exploring?

Compose a specific, business-related statement that you think can be argued for or against, and that will be used to guide the research.