Team Research Paper and Related Deliverables  

Each student will be assigned by the instructor to a research team during the first two weeks of class.  Each team will choose one of the "100 Best Companies to Work for 2014."  Fortune's yearly list and related stories can be found at:

            http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2014/list/?

The term paper assignment directly relates to Course Competency # 6: "Assess the distinctive HR practices of employers-of-choice and compare and contrast HR policies and practices across organizations."

Your job will be to investigate the firm's human resource policies and tell us what is so special about this organization. What HR policies make them an excellent place to work?  Identify and discuss at least five of these. The format of your paper should be as follows:

Abstract

Introduction

Overview of the Company

Distinctive HR Policies and Practices (an introduction followed by second-level headings for each policy and/or practice that you are going to discuss)

Implications for HR Practices in Other Companies

Conclusion

References

The research paper will be 15-25 double-spaced pages in text length, not including cover page or Appendices and be written by assigned teams of 3-5 people. Paper must be written according to APA style and be carefully referenced.  Your abstract will be included in your page count.

 
Appropriate references:  This is a library research paper and you must use at least 8 different sources, not including textbooks; so be sure to pick a company about which a lot has been written. At least 5 of these sources must be published journal articles; the others may be organizational websites, government websites, or other reputable Internet sources. (You may use textbooks and other books if you have more than 8 sources.)

The introduction of each paper will include a statement of the purpose and organization of the paper.  Before your conclusion, you must have a section entitled "Implications for HR Practices in Other Companies" where you explain what other companies can learn from the company you are studying.  This is the one section of the paper where you are analyzing what you have learned and extrapolating in order to make recommendations.  You are not expected to have references in this section. Instead, this section should show some original thinking.   You are not expected to specifically discuss HR practices in other companies.

Be sure to use published journal articles as your sources, not less-reliable      Internet web sites.  Reference your paper very carefully and tightly.  Appropriate source journals include (among others)  HR Magazine, Academy of Management Perspectives, Personnel Journal, Fortune, Human Resource Management, SAM Advanced Management Journal, Journal of Management, HR Focus, Human Resource Development Quarterly, The Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, The Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, and Organizational Dynamics.  You may use the company's website, but do so sparingly and remember that what a company has on their own website may be positively biased in their favor.  

Appearance, punctuation, grammar, neatness, and spelling count.  This must be a professional looking paper to receive full credit. Paper should have an introduction, body, conclusion, and reference section. Paper should also have appropriate headings and sub-headings in the body of the paper.  Be sure to use the required title page.  A Table of Contents must be included which lists each heading and names the person who wrote that section as well as the beginning page number for that section. Write transition sentences between sections so that the reader knows where you are going and why.  Note that this is a research paper.  Avoid all first person pronouns and personal opinion. 

Academic integrity is of the utmost importance in this term paper. Your paper will be submitted through turnitin.com which will document any plagiarism, intentional or unintentional. See more details under VIII: Additional Information.

      Group work may, at first, seem unusual in the online environment but the electronic nature of the class makes it quite easy for students to send work back and forth and to collaborate on a final product. By the end of Week 2, each group will pick a team leader who will be the primary liaison with the instructor. This person will coordinate the timeline for project work, clear the topic with the instructor, receive their team member's work electronically, consolidate that work and e-mail everyone in the group the final draft paper.  Finally, the team leader will be responsible for sending the final paper to turnitin.com, the Assignment Dropbox and posting the PowerPoint presentation on the discussion board.

The term paper will be an evolving project throughout the term. You will need to start on it right away.  Here are the details for each section.   Note that there is no late credit for any assignments in this class so track due dates very carefully.