The MBA 600 course includes a Final Paper that covers the cumulative course content throughout our term.In your Final Paper, you will identify an organization to analyze in each of the areas of organizational leadership and management that we have discussed in this course.

Your choice of organization can include either a) an organization of your choice that may be a non-profit, a social enterprise, or a different type of organization that is not necessarily a company, or b) an organization you propose as an entrepreneurial endeavor, for which you are willing to complete the final paper as a proposal including the components of the organization expected to be analyzed for the final paper. Regardless if you choose a, b, or c, all students must receive instructor approval of their choice for the final paper. Students should request pre-approval early in the term. Your assignment is a formal research paper analyzing the organization for its efforts in creating a positive organizational culture and a successful managerial strategy.

The scholarly paper should analyze your selected organization of choice regarding its efforts over various areas of managerial oversight. Considering each of the topics that we have learned about in class, your analysis of the organization’s leadership and managerial initiatives will result in a scorecard of sorts, measuring how the company’s efforts are succeeding, or where the company could focus to improve.

Students will demonstrate proficiency in business writing, including APA 7th ed. standards and citations, references, grammar, punctuation, headings, title page, and quality of sources with emphasis on scholarly references within the most recent two years. Students are expected to present concepts supported by the literature on organizational behavior, leadership, management, and organizational strategy. (Writing proficiency is worth 30% of earned grade).

Your paper should address how the organization’s leaders and managers are performing in these strategic managerial focus areas (the content of the paper is worth 70% of the earned grade):

1. Influencing organizational culture including values, mission, and vision (See resources in Canvas Modules 5 and 6, as well as Cengage book Chapter 8). Worth 10%

1. 1. 1. Report the organization’s values or guiding principles
      2. Include the organization’s mission
      3. Include the organization’s vision

1. Exemplifying traditional and contemporary leadership styles and ethical leadership practices (See resources in Canvas Modules 1 and 2, as well as Cengage book Chapters 12, 13, 14).

1. 1. 1. Identify one or more styles of leadership studied this term and explain how it is observed in the leadership of the chosen organization.
      2. Identify a time or event that challenged the organization’s ethics and include how the management approached the problem with ethical leadership.

1. Responsible decision-making and problem solving (See resources in Canvas Module 3 as well as Cengage book Chapter 15). Worth 10%

1. 1. 1. Report how the organization addresses problems and challenges. How does the organization attempt to solve these?
      2. Review the course content on responsible decision making. Identify a time or event when the organization displayed responsible decision making.

1. Managing organizational change, organizational communication, and conflict management (See resources in Canvas Modules 2, 4, 5 as well as Cengage book Chapters 11, 16, 19). Worth 10%

1. 1. 1. Identify a challenge the organization has been through. This could be either a time of change, or of conflict, or in a crisis communication plan. Choose at least one of these.
      2. Include an example to demonstrate how the organization manages these challenges.

1. Strategic organizational initiatives in innovation or value creation (See resources in Canvas Modules 6, 7 as well as Cengage book Chapters 4, 5, 6). Worth 10%

1. 1. 1. What is the organization doing to innovate?
      2. Is there an example of how the organization is creating value?
      3. Is there a connection between the management strategy of the organization, and how it views innovation and new opportunities?

1. Evaluate the organization’s ability to execute its mission and vision and demonstrate its organizational culture (See resources in all Canvas modules, and Cengage book Chapters 8-19). Worth 20%
   1. 1. Revisit the organization’s mission statement presented in the first section of the paper. Analyze if the mission statement is reflective of what the organization does. Opine how you determine the organization is meeting its mission or suggest how it might pivot its purpose in the current economic landscape.
      2. Review the organization’s vision statement presented in the first section of the paper. Analyze the organization’s ability to execute its vision. How might the vision be adjusted for the current business environment?
      3. Select a current or past challenge the organization has faced, (if not then forecast a likely challenge ahead) and evaluate how the organization’s values and culture were (or could be) made actionable by demonstrating the leadership’s ability to respond to the situation and execute an effective strategy for continued performance.

MBA 600 Final Paper Grading Criteria:

10% Influencing organizational culture including values, mission, and vision (SLO 1.2, SLO 1.2)

10% Exemplifying traditional and contemporary leadership styles and ethical leadership practices (SLO 1.2, SLO 3.3)

10% Responsible decision-making and problem solving (SLO 2.2)

10% Managing organizational change, organizational communication, and conflict management (SLO 1.1)

10% Strategic organizational initiatives in innovation or value creation (SLO 1.3)

20% Evaluate the organization’s ability to execute its mission and vision and demonstrate its organizational culture (SLO 1.1, SLO 1.3, SLO 3.2, SLO 3.3)

30% Demonstrate proficiency in business writing, including APA 7th ed. standards and citations, references, grammar, punctuation, headings, title page, and quality of sources with emphasis on scholarly references within the most recent two years (SLO 4.1)