Question

WRITE AND DISCUSS 3: PROBLEMS WITH THE STATUS QUO

Overview

Soon you will begin planning and drafting your final paper for the course. This final paper is a business proposal addressing a problem or an untapped opportunity you have encountered in your workplace or community. The first step in identifying a topic for a paper of this kind is to identify an issue you would like to address. This assignment is designed to help you begin to identify and narrow your topic for the final paper by way of discussion generated on the Discussion Forum below.

The rhetorical situation: Since proposals all suggest some kind of change, the author of the proposal generally has to demonstrate some shortcomings with the status quo, that is, a problem to fix or an untapped opportunity to pursue. In your first posting, then, write a complaint message (one full paragraph at least) describing some problem or problems you are encountering in your work environment or community life. Alternatively, write an informative message identifying an untapped opportunity relevant to your work or community. Assume you are writing this message to a friend with whom you can be totally candid. Good ideas for change often develop out of a discussion starting with an initial complaint or observation that things could be better.

Possible Topics: For this project, you will address a specific issue related to your workplace or local community. Begin by identifying a problem to solve or an opportunity for improvement. Here are some common topic areas that lend themselves to business proposals:

Resources: The problem could be related to not having enough technology to get the work done effectively, having too few resources, and so on.

Staffing: Problems might exist in relation to turnover and retention, employee recruitment, performance evaluation, interviewing and selection, employee discipline and training, and so on.

Management: Problems could include unclear information on policies and procedures, a lack of employee empowerment to make decisions, poor morale and attitudes, and so on.

Marketing: Problems might relate to impending threats, ineffective branding, and so on.

Policies: Problems arise when multiple policies are contradictory, when policies are not enforceable, when policies work against the mission of the organization, and so on.