bsb capstone guide

7/28/2019 BSB Capstone Guide

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Student Guide

for theAnalysis and Integration

in

Business and Management

Paper

BUSB 485The Capstone Course

for the

Bachelor of Science, Business Program

The Capstone Paper

supported by these Artifact Courses:BUSB 300: Ethical and Legal Environment of Business

BUSB 330: Managing and Leading OrganizationsBUSB 340: Principles of Marketing

BUSB 342: International BusinessBUSB 361: Financial Management

and all of the other core courses in the BSB curriculum

University of Redlands

School of Business 2011


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TIMELINE OF CAPSTONE ENGAGEMENT iv

WEBSITE AND CITATION INFORMATION v

CHAPTER I - WHO: THE CAPSTONE PAPER PERSONNEL 1Capstone Instructor 1

Artifact Faculty 1

Undergraduate Program Director 2

Armacost Library Staff 2

CHAPTER II - WHY: PURPOSE OF THE CAPSTONE PAPER 3

What is a Capstone Experience? 3

Mastering the Learning Objectives for the Capstone Paper and BUSB 485 3

CHAPTER III - WHAT: THE CAPSTONE PAPER 4What is a Capstone Paper? 4

What is Your Target Organization? 4

What is Your Approach to the Target Organization 5

Business Analysis 5Problem Analysis 5

Business Innovation 6

The Topic Proposal Form 7The Role of the Artifacts in the Capstone Paper 7

CHAPTER IV - WHEN: THE CAPSTONE TIMELINE 9

Meeting with Your Capstone Instructor 9Submitting the Topic Proposal Form 9

Capstone Instructor Response to the Topic Proposal 9

Changes to an Approved Topic Proposal 10

Updates to ArtifactsPre-class Assignment for BUSB485 10Schedule for Class Sessions and Submission of the Capstone Paper 10

Disposition of the Capstone Paper 11

CHAPTER V - HOW: COMPONENTS OF THE CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE 12

Genesis of the Artifact Papers 12Artifact Reflection and Updating Process 13

Grading Criteria for Artifact Updates 13The Capstone Paper 13

Components of the Capstone Paper 13

Front Matter 14Text 15

Updates to Artifacts 17

Grading Criteria for the Capstone Paper 18


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The Oral Report 18

The Purpose and Opportunity of the Oral Report 18

Components of the Oral Report 18Utilization of AV and PowerPoint Resources 18

The Peer Response Process 19

Grading Criteria for the Oral Report 19

CHAPTER VI - WHERE: FINAL SUBMISSION OF THE

THE CAPSTONE PAPER AND ARTIFACTS 20

Delivery of the Capstone Paper on CD-R 20Guidelines for Burning your Capstone CD-R 20

REFERENCES 25

APPENDIX A: Glossary 26

APPENDIX B: Topic Proposal Form 28

APPENDIX C: Peer Response Workshops 31


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Timeline of Capstone Engagement

Here is the timeline of your engagement with the Capstone process:

Course Sequence* Course Title Links to theCapstone

ExperienceBUSB 300 Ethical and Legal

Environment

of Business

Artifact Course

BUSB 230 Economics for Business

BUSB 145 Mathematical Foundations

for Business

BUSB 301 Critical Analysis: Written

and Oral CommunicationBUSB 330 Managing and Leading

Organizations

Artifact Course

BUSB 232 Business Statistics

BUSB 333 Business InformationSystems

BUSB 340 Principles of Marketing Artifact Course

BUSB 260 Financial and ManagerialAccounting

BUSB 433 GIS for Business

BUSB 342 International Business Artifact Course

BUSB 361 Financial Management Artifact CourseBUSB 370 Managing Quality and

Operations

BUSB 481 Strategic Management

BUSB 485 Analysis and Integration in

Business and Management

Capstone Course

*Effective as of 7/1/2010; this sequence changes for students enrolling after 1 July 2011.

Figure 1. Timeline of Capstone Engagement


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University of Redlands Websitewww.redlands.edu

References are made throughout this Guide to the University of Redlands website.Please become familiar with these particular features atwww.redlands.eduif you

have not done so already.

-Armacost Library

-Blackboard -- from the Universitys homepage, click on myRedlands and loginusing your user name and password for your University e-mail account.

-Undergraduate Program Resources--from the Universitys homepage, click on

School of Business > Undergraduate Programs > Undergraduate Program Resources

to access program and course information and resources.

Citation and Formatting Styles

Faculty may choose any recognized style for the correct and consistent citation ofresources and must provide students with links to books or websites that provide details

concerning their preferred style. Faculty may also instruct students to use an appropriate

style of their own choice. Examples of appropriate styles include American PsychologicalAssociation (APA), Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), Modern Humanities ResearchAssociation (MHRA), and Turabian.

Like all undergraduate program documents, this Guide is formatted using the AmericanPsychological Associations (APAs) style recommendations for reference citations,

section headings, running heads, and page numbers. The left-hand margin is wider than

the APA standard in order to accommodate the three-hole punching of this document.
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CHAPTER I

WHO: THE CAPSTONE PAPER PERSONNEL

Capstone Instructor

Your Capstone instructor is part of a select group of faculty that has been identified to

teach BUSB 485, the course in which you will create your Capstone paper. Each instructor

has demonstrated the teaching and research skills necessary to guide you through thisprocess; each instructor also has a long history with the School of Business and understands

the unique challenges and needs of the adult learner. Each instructor received special training

before undertaking this Capstone process.

Artifact Faculty

Your Artifact faculty may be available as resources for any discipline-specificinquiries you have during the composition of your Capstone paper. The Capstone instructor

has a breadth of business and management knowledge; the Artifact instructor can answer

questions particular to that specific discipline.

Before you reach BUSB 485, you may have

completed as many as five Artifact courses and papers.

Those courses are:BUSB 300: Ethical and Legal Environment of

Business

BUSB 330 Managing and Leading

OrganizationsBUSB 340: Principles of Marketing

BUSB 342: International Business

BUSB 361: Financial Management

We understand that some students will not have

completed all of the Artifact courses due to transferwaivers, entry at other than the first course in the

Schedule of Instruction, or interruptions in the BSB

sequence of courses. Obviously, the more Artifacts you

bring to your Capstone paper, the better prepared youwill be for the analysis and integration required for

your topic.

You are expected to save your Artifact paperselectronically for use later in BUSB 485. Additionally,

it is veryIMPORTANT that you save the evaluated

Artifact papers returned to you by your instructors with their comments. These annotatedArtifacts will be updated as a pre-class assignment for BUSB 485 and included as appendixes

to the Capstone paper.

So, I should save all the

Artifact papers I have written

even though the Artifact

course is over?

Absolutely! Your instructor should

return the Artifact papers to you with

grades and evaluative comments

within three weeks of the end of eachArtifact course. If your papers are not

promptly returned with comments

from your Artifact instructor, please

inform the Program Director

immediately. You should save hard

copies AND electronic copies of your

Artifact papers for use in the

Capstone. Since 2004, students have

reported lost Artifact papers due to

computer crashes, apartment fires,

and stolen cars. Dont lose YOUR

Artifact papers! The Artifact papers

serve as a tangible memory for thesubjects you study throughout your

BSB program.


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Undergraduate Program Director

The Undergraduate Program Director oversees the implementation and operations of

the entire undergraduate program. If you have questions or concerns about any element ofyour program that cannot be addressed by your instructors or campus staff, please contact theUndergraduate Program Director.

Your Undergraduate Program Director is Dr. Denise MacNeil. She can be reached bye-mail [email protected] or by phone at (909) 748-8775.

Armacost Library Staff

Visit the library at

http://www.redlands.edu/library.xml. You may access

many different databases to do your research; pleasecontact Lua Gregory at (909) 748-8083 or by e-mail

at [email protected] when you need research

assistance and passwords. You may also request

books, articles, database searches, and other libraryinformation by using the librarys website. Requests

are usually answered within one business day; the

library delivers books, articles, and database searchesvia fax or mail.

Watch for announcements at your campus that

will inform you of scheduled visits to your campus bythe library staff. You are also welcome to attend

library and database orientations at other campuses

that may be more convenient to your workplace orhome.

Do issues of academic honestyapply to the Capstone paper?

Absolutely! Just as you have been

advised to use proper citations of

resource work in all of your academic

papers, giving credit when you have

used the work of other people,

academic honesty is critically

important to the Capstone paper.

Serious sanctions apply to any

instance of plagiarism discovered in

the Capstone paper or in any of the

appended Artifact papers.

Sanctioning students for plagiarismis a dreadful process; dont let it

happen to you!
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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CHAPTER II

WHY? THE PURPOSE OF THE CAPSTONE PAPER

What is a Capstone Experience?

While the shorthand reference for BUSB 485 may be the Capstone course, thecourses formal title is Analysis and Integration in Business and Management. The

courses description provides the foundation for the course and was also crafted with care in

order to represent these institutional expectations:

Focus on integrating knowledge and skills acquired during the program and applying

them to an organizational analysis, presented as a

Capstone Paper that utilizes artifacts created in earliercourses, synthesizes principles and theories from a

broad arena of learning, and demonstrates effective

skills of critical inquiry, communication, andsecondary research. (University of Redlands, 2009, p.

320)

You will become the expert on a topic of yourown choosing, then, and the Capstone Paper will be

the distillation of your expertise. It will be your

culminating and summative workyour capstoneexperience.

Mastering the Learning Objectives for the Capstone

Paper and BUSB 485

In addition to the broad expectations noted in

the course description, the syllabus for the BUSB 485course sets forth specific learning objectives. These

learning objectivescourse foundationsare:

1. to analyze a real-world business issue2. to utilize interdisciplinary resources in analyzing an organizational issue and then to

apply these resources if it is necessary to identify prescriptive solutions for that issue

3. to demonstrate skills of critical inquiry in the analysis of the topic4. to construct an integrated paper that reflects on the students accrued learning and

strengthens important academic and professional skills for current and future

application

5. to demonstrate progress toward managerial competency in three areas: 1) effectivecommunication; 2) analytic skills and 3) knowledge areas

6. to analyze the knowledge gained in the Capstone process, to reflect on oneslearning outcomes at the conclusion of the undergraduate program, and to exhibit

this in the paper7. to collect, evaluate, and utilize information from many kinds of resources

What is a Capstone course?

Why do I have to write a

Capstone paper?Capstone courses or events are

required in most University of

Redlands degree programs. A

capstone course represent[s] the

culmination of the students

academic

accomplishmentsoffer[ing] students

the opportunity to synthesize topics

and skills learned in their academic

programs (UR Catalog, 2009, p. 21).

In BUSB 485, the Capstone course in

the BSB program, students write a

paper on a topic of their choosingthat analyzes and integrates their

program learning.


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CHAPTER III

WHAT: THE CAPSTONE PAPER

What is the Capstone Paper?

The Capstone paper will be a university-level, formally written examination of abusiness or management subject. While we call it a paper, the final document will besubmitted on a CD-R disk. It is expected that the text of the Capstone paper will be a

minimum of 30 to 40 pages in length, excluding graphics and the Artifact appendixes.

You will choose both the target organization for this paper and the topic option you

will utilize in this study. There are three topic options from which to choose, all of which

are described shortly in this chapter.

Your Capstone instructor will provide a timeline for your work together during BUSB

481. This timeline will include the submission dates for your Topic Proposal Form and

the updates you will perform on your Artifactpapers. There will also be certain communication

checkpoints so you can ask questions as they

arise about your Capstone paper.

What is Your Target Organization?

What company, business, or industry do youwant to examine? Thatis your target organization.

Do you want to write your Capstone paper on

the company by which you are employed? Do youwant to explore a company with which you would

like to be affiliated? Perhaps you want to think more

broadly and utilize this assignment to learn moreabout an industry-wide issue. Or, is there an innovation that you want to bring to your

workplace?

Maybe your special interest is in customer service and satisfaction in restaurants. You

could focus your study on KFC, Sizzler, or on some other specific company, or you could

take a broader look at customer service and satisfaction in the broader arena of food-service

franchises.

As your ideas take shape, make notes along the way so you will be ready to discuss

the options when you meet with your Capstone instructor. Do not be afraid to think BIG.

Remember, though, to think about what is reasonable to complete during an 8-week course!

What is a Business or Industry

Analysis?

This is an organization- or industry-

targeted study for the purpose of

analyzing its place in the business

environment using a SWOT Analysis

or the Five Forces Model.

Summaries of these models are

available for your review now at

http://www.quickmba.com/
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What is Your Approach to the Target Organization?

Business Analysis

This is an organization- or industry-targeted study for the purpose of analyzing its

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). A summaryrecommendation is made to address the findings.

Two Examples of a Business Analysis

1. SWOT Analysis. Conduct a SWOT analysis and closely examine the financialstrength and the legal and ethical environment of the industry and your

company. (BUSB 361, BUSB 300) (Visit www.quickmba.com for a refresher on

the SWOT Analysis and other models.)

As you identify the opportunities and threats in

the industry, use them to help you understand where the

organization should go by reviewing the marketingsituation and the managerial and leadership

environment. (BUSB 340, BUSB 330)

Once you have completed the quantitative analysis, then bring in the qualitative analysis

to deal with convincing the organization to adopt a change plan.

2. Porters Five Forces Model. Use this model to evaluate these forces found inyour Artifacts. (Visitwww.quickmba.comfor a refresher on this and othermodels.)

Problem Analysis

This is a study of a target organization (a company or an industry) for the purpose of

examining a specific problem and proposing a solution.

In your target organization, is your problem in the management arena? with the legal

department? in the departments running the financial management and forecasting processes?

There are more than enough problems to solve in the environments of business and industry.

Most of us could easily list four or five problem areas without stretching our imaginations atall. The surprising thing about conducting a problem analysis, though, is that clearly defining

the specific problem can often be as challenging as analyzing it.

Finding problems and stating problems are not the same things. Each requires

thorough examination and deduction. The more clearly you can identify your probleminitially, the greater is your likelihood for success with the Capstone paper in the time

available for its completion.

What is a Problem Analysis?

This is a study of a target organization

(a business or an industry) for the

purpose of examining a specific

problem and proposing a solution.
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Examples of a Problem Analysis

Problems are often identified by conversational questions or workplace exclamations.Whatever were they thinking when they adopted this new code? Are they crazy to think

that we can (fill in the blank) ______________? Why not? Questions are a good place to

start in identifying issues appropriate for a problem analysis.

-Is there a faster and more efficient way to keep time records for payroll?

-How could the ranges and steps of the pay scale be amended to reflect merit more than

simply time-served?-How can we promote a new product with limited funds for marketing?

-How can we regulate inventory to conform to seasonal demands?

-Do we really want to implement a 360-degree performance appraisal process?

-How can we control employee theft?-How can we keep pace with technological innovations?

-Why are we not receiving updates to the procedural manuals in our department? Are

other departments having this same problem?

Business Innovation

In this study, you are seeking to adopt or create aninnovation.

Examples of an Analysis of a Business Innovation

There are many examples of innovation:

technological changes, new products, perhaps even a

new organization. Innovations can occur industry-wide,company-wide, division-wide, or only department-

wide. You will be concentrating heavily upon defining

an innovation and developing its implementation in the future as opposed to performing ananalysis of the past. The message that you are trying to deliver is, Here is the innovation, this is

what it can do for us, and this is how and when we can make it happen.

Technological Change. Predicting the outcome of technological change is very difficult.

Technological change puts a strain upon human resources, ethics policies, financial ratios, and

accounting controls that result in unpredictable events taking place. The intangibles of vision

and leadership are also often sorely tested.

Product Development.New product development depends heavily upon marketing,

operations, human resources, finance, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and law.

New Organizations.New organizations can be created within existing organizations

or as entirely new ones built from scratch.

One Last Item. Set up a chart of accounts for each innovation or technological change

with budgets supported by written assumption

What is a Business Innovation?

In seeking to adopt or create an

innovation, you will be concentrating

on defining an innovation and

developing its implementation in the

future. These innovations may involve

technological changes, product

developments, entirely new

organizations, or more.


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The following types of components could typically be included in any of the three

topic options for your Capstone paper. Many of these components will be part of the Artifact

papers you completed earlier in the program. Each component is identified by the Artifactcourse number and discipline area.

Analysis of the situation in terms of leadership (BUSB 330: Managing and LeadingOrganizations)

Analysis of the legal parameters and ethical concepts involved (BUSB 300: Ethical andLegal Environment of Business)

Analysis of the situation in terms of leadership (BUSB 330: Managing and LeadingOrganizations)

Analysis of the legal parameters and ethical concepts involved (BUSB 300: Ethical andLegal Environment of Business)

Analysis of the marketing issues involved (BUSB 340: Principles of Marketing) Financial analysis appropriate to the study (BUSB

361: Financial Management)

Analysis of the global factors and potential thatapply (BUSB 342: International Business)

The Topic Proposal Form

The Topic Proposal Form appears as Appendix

B in this Guide. It is also available on-line with other

course and program resources on the UR website. Your

Capstone instructor will tell you when it needs to besubmitted for review, comment, and approval.

When you submit your Topic Proposal Formto your Capstone instructor, you will receive some

helpful feedback to help clarify your vision of your

Capstone paper. You might be asked to re-consider,

re-define, re-organize, re-everything. This veryimportant step in the process should help to make sure that you and your Capstone paper are

getting off to a great start. If your first proposal is declined by your instructor, there is still time

to re-organize your plans and stay on schedule.

The Role of the Artifacts in the Capstone Paper

By the mid-point in your BSB program, you may have written as many as three Artifactpapers: BUSB 300, BUSB 330, and BUSB 340.Based on the units you transferred from other

institutions, however, you may have been waived from some of these courses and may not have

written all of these Artifact papers. This is another element that makes the Capstone paperprocess unique to each student! We recognize that not all students will complete all of the five

Artifact papers prior to the start of BUSB 485 due to these transfer waivers. Obviously, though,

the more Artifact papers one has written, the greater ones readiness and ones resources for theCapstone paper.

Do I need to have my topic

approved?

Yes, your Capstone instructor will

approve your topic. You will submit a

Topic Proposal Form and your

instructor will approve your

proposed topic or suggest that you

revise it before approval is given.

The Topic Proposal Form is

considered to be homework for BUSB

485, so it is important that you

submit your form according to theschedule your instructor provides.


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You can now focus more specifically on your approach to your target organization. You

are creating your own collection of resources to serve as a foundation to your Capstone paper.

You have been developing your competencies to think clearly, communicate effectively, andresearch competently and ethically.

Your Artifact papers will be an external source of memorytangible reminders of whatknowledge you have already mastered and how thatknowledge can be applied in the bigger picture. That is

what this analysis and integration business is all

about.

It should be noted here that you will have a

choice concerning the course content you want to

include in your Capstone Paper. While most studentswill reach BUSB 485 with five Artifact Papers in hand,

you will ultimately select the content of five core

courses as central to your Capstone Paper. In mostcases, these five core courses will represent most of

your Artifact Papers. We have learned, though, that the

topics that students choose for the Capstone Paper will

not always be aligned with the Artifact courses. Nowyou may choose the five most relevant courses to your

topic. You will still append all of your Artifact Papers

to the Capstone Paper, but you now have a wider rangeof core topics to include in your Capstone Paper.

How many Artifact papers

must be used in the

development of my Capstone

paper?

There is not a hard and fast rule on

the inclusion of a certain number of

Artifact papers in the Capstone

paper. Based on your selected topic,

not all of the Artifact courses will berelevant to your paper. The

important role of the Artifacts is to

contribute to the Capstone in a

meaningful way, not simply to

include, say, International Business

course content whether that is

appropriate to your topic or not.

What is required, though, is that

you include specific content from

at least five of your core courses in

the Capstone paper. When you

submit your Topic Proposal Form to

your Capstone instructor and begin

discussions about your topic selection

and the development of your

Capstone paper, your instructor can

guide you in selecting the most

appropriate combination of Artifact

papers and content from other core

courses forinclusion in your paper.


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CHAPTER IV

WHEN: THE CAPSTONE TIMELINE

Meeting with Your Capstone Instructor

Your Capstone instructor will provide the guidance necessary for you to prepare forthe Capstone course. The Capstone instructor will contact your clusters CEO and arrange

this face-to-face meeting with your cluster during BUSB 481: Strategic Management. At this

meeting, you will receive the framework for the work leading up to BUSB 485, including atimeline for all assignments and deliverables. On scheduled dates, you will submit one or

more completed forms or documents to your Capstone instructor. Your Capstone instructor

will provide details concerning contact methodology for future communications to support

the progress you will be making. It is necessary for all BSB students to have an operableUniversity of Redlands e-mail address. This is critical for communications and for access to

Blackboard.

Submitting the Topic Proposal Form

Submitting your Topic Proposal Form to yourinstructor according to the schedule set forth for such

deliverables is very important. Your instructor may

assign grading consideration to the on-timesubmission of this very important document.

Note: If you are undecided about your topic

when it is time to submit your Topic Proposal Form,you are advised to submit up to three alternative

Topic Proposal Forms. There is a box on the form

where you can indicate if this proposal is your first,second, or third choice. The Capstone instructor will

comment on the viability of all of the topics and recommend one topic proposal that seems

most viable for your study. The decision is ultimately yours; the instructors feedback shouldmake your decision easier.

Capstone Instructor Response to the Topic Proposal

Your Capstone instructor will review your Topic Proposal Form(s) and respond with

comments according to the BUSB 485 schedule of communications. The first decision to be

made is whether the topic is appropriate and feasible. An appropriate topic will fit into oneof the three topic options, will address a significant issue or opportunity, and will have strong

potential for allowing you to apply a number of course disciplines from the program. A

feasible topic will also be confined in scope to a task that can realistically be accomplishedwithin the eight-week time frame of the Capstone course.

What if I change my mind

about my Capstone topic once

it is approved?

Life happens! If your interests and/or

your employment situation change

and your original, approved topic is

no longer available/appropriate to

you, you should submit a new Topic

Proposal Form to your instructor

immediately. Casual topic changes

are not encouraged, especially as you

get closer to the Capstone course, butsome things are simply unavoidable.


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Changes to an Approved Topic Proposal

Changes to your topic prior to arriving at the first class session of BUSB 485 may beunavoidable, but they are not encouraged. Whenever circumstances dictate a change to the

topic, an immediate consultation with your Capstone instructor is in order.

Updates to ArtifactsPre-class Assignment for BUSB 485

Your Artifact papers should all be returned to you with instructor comments. If youdo not receive graded papers back from your instructors in a timely way, please notify your Program Director immediately! These comments should be addressed and your Artifactpapers should be updated to reflect major suggestions. It will be necessary to review and

update your Artifacts immediately prior to BUSB 485 for currency and applicability to yourCapstone topic. Data cited in BUSB 300 and BUSB 330 will be more than a year old when

you write your Capstone paper!

The Artifact Reflection and Updating Process

Re-read your Artifacts and review your

Artifact instructors comments, asking yourself thesequestions:

Does the Artifact apply to my targetorganization?

If yes, what does it recommend? Whatprocess/framework did it use to make thatrecommendation?

If no, what process or technique related to thisArtifact course/discipline would be

appropriate to apply to my targetorganization? Apply this process/technique to

your current situation or target.

What updating will your Artifact need? Consideration should be given to the currencyand applicability of the data in the original Artifact to the topic and organization

selected for the Analysis and Integration Paper.

What additional secondary research will you have to do to integrate the Artifact withthe Capstone paper?

One Last Item

These updates to the Artifact papers should be ready to submit to your Capstoneinstructor at the first class meeting of the BUSB 485.

The final Capstone paper CD-R with Artifacts as appendixes and other requiredcomponents must be in the hands of your Capstone instructor no later than 10 days after the

date of your last class meeting. No late penalty will be assessed as long as you honor this 10-

What if I dont have all five

Artifact papers when I reach

the Capstone course?

We recognize that not all students

will arrive at BUSB 485 with all five

Artifact papers. Some students may

have been waived from Artifact

courses because they took those

courses at other schools. We assume

that these students have the content

knowledge from waived courses, even

if they do not have an Artifact paperfor that subject.


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day grace period. Logistical details concerning the delivery of your Capstone CD-R to your

instructor will be provided by your instructor during BUSB 485.

Disposition of the Capstone Paper submitted to the University

The Universitys copy of your Capstone paper should be delivered in the form of aCD-R disk. Your Capstone instructor may require an additional hard copy for grading. TheUniversitys copy will be kept for up to three years

before disposal. It will be available to School of

Business faculty for various academic and pedagogicalreasons, to the Undergraduate Program Director for

assessment of outcomes, to School of Business

administration for a variety of purposes, and to our

accrediting body, WASC. The confidentiality statementyou include among the Front Matter documents of

your Capstone paper will control access of your paper to

readers outside of these groups.

It is important that you keep a copy of your Capstonepaper. The CD-R you submit to your instructor

will not be returned to you.

Will I have to do any other

work in this course while I am

writing my Capstone paper?

Yes. You will work with several case

studies during this course that will

help you refine your skills for the

processes of analysis and integration.

You will do some final work with the

Browne and Keeley program text,

Asking the Right Question, to hone

your critical thinking abilities. You

will also make a formal oral

presentation of your Capstone paper

to your instructor and your class.


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CHAPTER V

HOW: COMPONENTS OF THE CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE

Genesis of the Artifact Papers

Artifact papers are assigned in these five classes:BUSB 300: Ethical and Legal Environment of BusinessBUSB 330: Managing and Leading Organizations

BUSB 340: Principles of Marketing

BUSB 342: International BusinessBUSB 361: Financial Management

As noted earlier, it is understood that some students will not have completed all of

these five courses prior to the start of the Capstone course.

Over the years we have observed some misunderstanding about the content of

Artifact papers Some students seem to think that every Artifact paper must be written aboutthe same company or topic that they will ultimately explore in their Capstone paper. This is

NOT the case! You wont be sure about your Capstone topic until you reach your Capstone

course.

In each Artifact course, you select a topic that will be of most benefit to you while

you learn about the content of that specific course. When you reach the Capstone course and

get re-acquainted with your Artifact papers, you will be utilizing those course-specifictheories and concepts and their applications to your Capstone paper; however, you will notnecessarily be using the same organizational context. Some students do find a commonality

among some of their Artifact papers and their Capstone topic. That is fortunate happenstance,

but it is NOT an institutional expectation or requirement!

There is not a hard and fast rule on the inclusion of a certain number of Artifact papers in the

Capstone paper. Based on your selected topic, not all of the Artifact courses will be relevantto your paper. The important role of the Artifacts is to contribute to the Capstone in a

meaningful way, not simply to include, say, International Business course content whether

that is appropriate to your topic or not. What is required, though, is that you include specificcontent from at least five of your core courses in the Capstone paper. When you submityour Topic Proposal Form to your Capstone instructor and begin discussions about your

topic selection and the development of your Capstone paper, your instructor can guide you in

selecting the most appropriate combination of Artifact papers and content from other corecourses for inclusion in your paper.

NOTE: The School of Business emphasizes the improvement of writing

throughout the program and believes it to be a universally applicable goalno matter at whatskill level you enter the program. If you have not yet contacted your regions writing tutor

and availed yourself of this free service, it is strongly recommended that you do so prior to

entering the Capstone course. Submitting one or more of your Artifact papers to this personfor comment will provide helpful guidance on improving your writing in preparation for all

BSB courses. Providing evidence of this contact to your Capstone instructor is expected.


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Grading Criteria for the Artifact Paper Updates

Your instructor may assign up to 10 points of the grading scheme for BUSB 485 for

the timely submission of your Artifact paper updates. They will be evaluated on the level of

engagement demonstrated in your work on the updates. Your Capstone instructor willprovide more specific information about faculty expectations for the updates.

The Artifact Reflection and Updating Process

Re-read your Artifacts and review your Artifact instructors comments, asking

yourself these questions:

Does the Artifact apply to my target organization? If yes, what does it recommend? What process/framework did it use to make that

recommendation?

If no, what process or technique related to this Artifact course/discipline would beappropriate to apply to my target organization? Apply this process/technique to yourcurrent situation or target.

What updating will your Artifact need? Consideration should be given to the currencyand applicability of the data in the original Artifact to the topic and organization

selected for the Analysis and Integration Paper.

What additional secondary research will you have to do to integrate the Artifact withthe Capstone paper?

These updates to the Artifact papers should be ready to submit to your Capstone

instructor at the first class meeting of the BUSB 485.

The Capstone Paper

Components of the Capstone Paper

The Capstone paper consists of three major components:a. front matter, consisting of four items (for some, five);b. your Capstone paper with a reference section, and any appendixes in support of

the text itself;

c. your updated Artifact Papers as individual appendixes to the paper.Typically, the document will range in length from 30 to 40 pages for the Capstonepaper, not including graphics or the appendixes, but this is not to be taken as an absolute

indication of the length. It may be longer. The 160-hour time frame is a much betterparameter by which to plan.

Please note that the text subsections that you will write depend on the Topic Option you havechosen (see Chapter III).


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Format your Capstone paper in compliance with APA formatting rules unless your

Capstone instructor has instructed you to use a different style and citation style.

Front Matter

The title page, an abstract of your paper, and your approved BSB Topic Proposal

Form are the front matter for the Capstone paper. This section will also include your releaseform and, if appropriate, a statement concerning the confidentiality your paper. The release

form indicates the degree to which others may access and utilize your paper. Students whose

papers include sensitive or proprietary information may include a confidentiality notice

which means that your paper cannot be accessed by anyone outside of the Universitysprocesses.

The importance of the title page is to identify you, your cluster, and the date. The

following should be noted:

1. After the title of your Capstone paper, your name, and your institutional affiliation(University of Redlands School of Business),

add the following information:

a line that provides your studentidentification number. The number is aunique identifier used for archiving

and other administrative purposes by

the school. It is assigned by theUniversity in a manner which

guarantees privacy of information and

is used for the Universitys

administrative purposes throughout theprogram.

a line that provides your clusteridentification, such as

IR.BSB.FA10W.

a line that provides the officialsubmission date of your Capstone

paper.

Title

John Q. Student

University of Redlands School of BusinessStudent Identification Number 1234567

IR.BSB.FA10W

February 24, 2013

2. Each draft version submitted as a scheduled deliverable to the Capstone instructormust carry the current date and, below it, the version number. This information will

not, however, appear in the final version.

What are the Capstone-related

documents?

In addition to the Capstone paper,

you will include all of your Artifact

papers as appendixes. This is why it

is so important to save your Artifact

papers. Other documents provide

administrative information, such as a

confidentiality form and a release

form. These forms are discussed in

the Student Guide and are available

for download from the Universitys

website under UndergraduateProgram Resources.


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Text

You will write this material as a summary and final discussion of your selected topic.The content details of this main section are presented below in two ways. The first is a chart

showing how the sub-sections relate to the three topic options. Following that, the sub-

sections are explained in terms of expected content.

Component

Identification:

for sub-mission dates,

see Figure 1.

Text Sub-Sections Topic Option

#1An

Analysis of anOrganization

or Industry

Topic Option #2

An Analysis of

a Problem in aTarget

Organization

Topic Option #3

Exploration of

an Innovation inan Organization

or an Industry

Component

#1

Introduction Yes Yes Yes

Component

#1

Business Context Yes Yes Yes

Component#1 Current BusinessStrategies Optional Yes Optional

Component

#2

Current Business

Capabilities

Yes Yes Yes

Component#2

S.W.O.T. Yes Yes Yes

Component

#2

Five Forces

Model

Yes N/A Yes

Component

#3

Assessment

Solutions,

Conclusions, and

Recommendations

Yes Yes Yes

Figure 4. Sub-Sections of the Capstone Paper Determined by Topic Options

Notes:

Yes = Required

Optional = Not all situations are under study in each topic option. Some areas of study mayapply to a particular study. This adaptation should be proposed by the student to the

Capstone instructor for discussion and review.

N/A = Not Applicable. Students may also propose adaptations of this.

Introduction. The Introduction is meant to provide an overall explanation of the study

that will allow the reader to gain a broad and general understanding of the study. There are

three sub-areas to this section: Purpose, Scope, and Definitions.

1. Purpose. The purpose of the study will be identified as ONE of the following threetopic options:

a. This explains yourreasons for selecting a particular industry to study, whatinformation you will gain from the study, and how you will apply thatinformation.


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b. This explains yourreasons for choosing to study a particular problem in anorganization with which you are familiar. Explain further what information

you will gain from the study and how you will apply that information.c. This explains your reasons forchoosing to study the innovation of a particular

change, a new product, or a new service. Explain further what information

you will gain from the study and how you will apply it.

2. Scope. Due to time and other boundaries, you will find that it is important to defineand clarify what the study will and will not cover. One approach to this is to list the

areas that you will emphasize in your study.

3. Definitions. On a separate page(s), list those terms that may not be familiar to thereader and provide definitions for these terms. Be sure to cite the sources for these

definitions. Remember that this sectionallows you to avoid the burden of inserting

definitions in the middle of your material,

breaking up the thought, interrupting thereader, and making the writing more difficult.

Business context. In summary form, describe

the environment in which the organization or industryfunctions, considering such things as regulatory

restraints, competition, labor supply, etc. These

elements may be mentioned again in other sections,but this allows you to make a statement about what

you consider the most important factors.

Current business strategies. For the targetorganization you have chosen to study, describe any

currently known strategies the organization is

pursuing, or plans to pursue. For industry studies,describe any common threads of strategy, e.g., the

creation of a separate cheap fares airline by a major

airline (Delta created Song) to compete with the otherdiscount airlines (JetBlue, etc.).

Current business capabilities. The business capabilities described below are

frequently overlooked in the analysis of an organization or industry. They may or may notalso be mentioned in a SWOT analysis, but a detailed examination in these areas is also

overlooked many times. They are important to the overall success of a problem solution, the

understanding of an industrys position, or the implementation of an innovation.

1. Business Processes. Describe the processes that enable the functioning of theorganization on a day-to-day basis and support the achievement of the operational goals.

For example, the utility industry supplies a service and commodity (natural gas, water,

etc.); bills and collects revenue from customers for the delivery of the services andcommodity; responds to customer service requests; builds and maintains facilities used in

the delivery of the services and commodity; maintains an inventory of equipment and

I dont want to change my

topic; I want to expand it.Should I contact my Capstone

instructor and let him/her

know about this change?

Always stay in touch with your

Capstone instructor concerning these

kinds of thoughts. This particular

change will obviously increase the

scope of your study, making it more

difficult to finish a comprehensive

paper that meets University

requirements within the time allotted

for the course. Scope Creep is

always a danger. It is better to startwith a narrowly defined topic area

that can be explored in depth. There

will always be areas that you would

like to explore in further studies.


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supplies in support of daily operations; and periodically applies to the regulatory

commission that oversees it for changes in the rules that govern the operations. The

analysis you provide should determine how responsive these processes are, whether theyare integrated in order to provide visibility to all impacts that changes make, etc.

2. Supporting IT tools. Describe the state of the IT infrastructure and analyze the adequacyof it for its role in the support of the operations.3. Internal organization. Define the organizational structures history and current approach(hierarchical vs. matrix, etc.).

4. Ethical and legal environment. Describe the ethical considerations and processes. Useas evidence mission statements, codes of conduct, media articles, quotes from upper-levelmanagement, and any other evidence discovered.

5. Financial analysis. Analyze the organization or industry based on the financialstatements.

6. Management and control systems. Analyze the organization or industry using theperspectives from the Financial Accounting course.

7. Marketing issues. Analyze the organization or industry using the perspectives from theMarketing course.

SWOT Analysis. Provide an analysis of the

target organization using SWOT (Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats).

Five Forces Model - Provide an analysis of the

target industry using the Five Forces model (level ofrivalry, potential for entry, power of suppliers, power

of customers, and the threat of substitute products).

Remember to visitwww.quickmba.comto review

models!

Assessmentsolutions, conclusions, and

recommendations. In this section you will summarizeyour main points and arrive at appropriate conclusions and recommendations. Utilize the

concepts put forth in the Browne and Keeley text,Asking the Right Questions.

Updates to Artifacts

This section contains the five Artifact papers from the program. They have been updated and

submitted to your Capstone instructor as a pre-class assignment for BUSB 485. Please see

Chapter IV of this Guide.

Grading Criteria for the Capstone Paper

Component #1 10 pointsComponent #2 10 points

Component #3 10 points

Analysis and Integration Paperdraft 15 points

(Please refer to Figure 2 for identification of the contents of each component.

How long should this Capstone

paper be?

Typically, the Capstone paper will

range from 30 to 40 pages in length.

The Guide describes all of the

required components. When you

integrate information from your

Artifact papers or papers from your

other core courses, it is easy to see

how your paper will easily reach this

length.
http://www.quickmba.com/http://www.quickmba.com/http://www.quickmba.com/http://www.quickmba.com/


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The Oral Report on the Capstone Paper

The Purpose and Opportunity of the Oral Report

At the end of the Capstone course, you will share the results of your Capstone paper

in an oral presentation to your instructor and learning cohorts. Depending on the nature of thetopic you chose to explore, this classroom presentation may be a dry run for making the samepresentation to the management of your company, to a prospective employer, or to an

enterprise banker.

Your Capstone instructor will provide pertinent details concerning the length of your

oral presentation when you reach the BUSB 485 course. Such details may, by necessity, be

determined simply by the number of students in your class.

Components of the Oral Report

This presentation is a formal report. Before the day of the class meeting when youpresent your oral report, you will post an abstract of your paper on Blackboard or distribute it

to your instructor and classmates by e-mail. Your classmates will print and review the

abstracts before bringing them to class, so everyone

will be prepared to listen and comment thoughtfullyon the oral reports.

These topics are suggested for use whenorganizing your oral report. This is not an exhaustive

list; please include other topics that are significant to

your paper. Your instructor may provide additional

content guidelines for this report.

Greetings and Introduction of the Topic Option and the Organization/Innovation Your Motivations in Selecting this Topic Option and Organization/Innovation Methods of Inquiry: Secondary Research Successes and Challenges Utilization of the Artifact Papers Results of the Analysis and Integration Processes Unexpected Outcomes? Surprises? How Will You Utilize this Information? Did You Discover Any Ethical Challenges in this Analysis and Integration Paper? How Would You Undertake this Paper/Process Differently?

Utilization of AV and PowerPoint Resources

We encourage the use of charts, graphs, illustrations, and figures to support your oral

report. These can be prepared as hard-copy displays or in PowerPoint slides. A PowerPointprojector will be available for your presentation. While your instructor may not require you

to use these additional resources, such visual aids will enhance your presentation.

The Peer Response Process of Oral Presentations

Some students consider this oral

presentation as a dry run prior to

presenting their Capstone paper to

their managers at work.


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The Peer Response Process will be employed for the oral reports. You will receive

feedback from each of your classmates following your presentation. These are responses toyour presentation, not evaluations or corrections. Due to time constraints, the feedback will

be written and given to you at the end of the class session. Please refer to Appendix C for the

Peer Response Worksheets. These are also available on the Universitys web site.

Grading Criteria for the Oral Report

Twenty points of the overall grade for this course are assigned to the oral report. Thisis the distribution of those points:

5 points Preparation and distribution of the Abstract before Session Eight

5 points Delivery of the oral presentation

10 points Content of the oral presentation


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CHAPTER VI

WHERE: THE FINAL SUBMISSION OF THE

CAPSTONE PAPER AND ARTIFACTS

Delivery of the Capstone Paper on CD-R

The final delivery of the CD-R to your Capstone instructor is due no later than 10days after the date of the last class meeting. No late penalty will be assessed as long as you

honor this 10-day grace period. Your instructor will provide delivery details concerning final

submission of your Capstone CD-R.

It is essential that you keep an electronic copy of your Capstone Paper!

The Capstone Paper you submit to the University will not be returned to you!!!

Guidelines for Burning your Capstone CD-R

Overview of the Electronic Capstone Paper

To develop the electronic Capstone paper, you

will have an electronic folder on your computer with

subfolders. These subfolders are like tabbeddividersthey will keep your files separated and

organized. Some documents, such as charts and

brochures, will be scanned and converted to image

files.

Structure and Layout of Directories and Files

The structure of the digital Capstone paper

should conform to this sequence:

Create a main folder and name it Capstone Paper. Create seven subfolders and name them SectionI, SectionII, etc. (with NO

spaces). All files, whether Word documents, images, etc., will be saved in their

appropriate folders. Place the subfolders for the sections in this order:

Subfolder Purpose:

Name:

SectionI Front MatterSectionII Capstone Paper

SectionIII BUSB 300 Artifact

SectionIV BUSB 330 ArtifactSectionV BUSB 340 Artifact

SectionVI BUSB 342 Artifact

SectionVII BUSB 361 Artifact

How is the Capstone paper

delivered?

There are two ways to look at this

question. First, the paper itself is

delivered on a CD-R disk.

Instructions for organizing and

burning the Capstone paper are

provided in this Student Guide for the

Analysis and Integration in Business

and Management Paper and on the

website. Second, your instructor will

inform you of ways to deliver your

completed paper within the 10-daygrace period.


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If you are missing an artifact, do not skip that section. Include that artifacts section in

the appropriate order. In that file, include a Word document that says, The artifact for

_____________(course alpha and number i.e., BUSB 330) is not available.

Table of Contents for the Capstone Paper

Using MS Word, create a Table of Contents for your Capstone paper and call itcontents.doc. Save this file in the main Capstone directory; do not save it in one of the

subfolders. In this document you will identify, section by section, each item in your

Capstone. You will also identify each documents filename. This way the reader will be ableto identify your files easily. The first line of text for your Table of Contents should read:

Capstone Paper by: (Your Name) (Your Student ID).

A Table of Contents may look like this:

Capstone Paper by John Q. Student (ID# 1234567)

Table of Contents

SectionI: Front Matter

1. Front Matter (frontmatter.doc)SectionII: Capstone Paper

1. Capstone Paper (Capstone.doc)SectionIII: BUSB 300 Artifact

1. Artifact for Managing and Leading Organizations (busb300.doc) SectionIV: BUSB 330 Artifact

1.

Artifact for Principles of Management (busb330.doc)SectionV: BUSB 340 Artifact1. Artifact for Ethics and Business Law (busb340.doc)

SectionVI: BUSB 342 Artifact

1. Artifact for Financial Management (busb342.doc)SectionVII: BUSB 361 Artifact

1. Artifact for International Business (busb361.doc)


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Heres the MS Explorer view, provided by Adjunct Professor

Jack Valenty. The TOC is in the main directory of Capstone

Paper at the same level as the subfolders.

Section VIII

contains your

PowerPoint

Presentation. It is at

the instructors

discretion if you are

required to submit a

PowerPoint of yourpresentation.

Subfolders that are

inside the the folder

Capstone Paper

If you have additional information to include in your Capstone paper, you may further

organize those documents by adding more subfolders in the appropriate sections.

**Note: If you wish to use hyperlinks within your Table of Contents document to

link items from the Table of Contents to the actual files on your CD, you may do so. This is

not required.

Scanning Original Documents into Images

You will need to use an image scanner to scan all original documents that cannot beotherwise included in the electronic Capstone paper. If you can obtain a digital version of

the item without having to scan your paper version, that is preferable. An example of this

would be saving a brochure that you developed related to your Capstone topic, rather thanscanning the entire brochure.

NOTE: Students are reminded to adhere to all copyrightlaws pertaining to scanning images and documents.

Scanning Guidelines

Scanning color documents (such as a brochure) to black and white is acceptable aslong as it is still clear and legible.

Scan documents to 100% of the actual image size or larger. Do not scan documents toless than 100% of original size.

Scanned images MUST be saved in either .jpg or .gif formats ONLY. (No documentsin .tiff, .bmp, .art, etc., format, please.)


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A note about file naming: Do not use the / character, and do not use any spaces.

Use the underscore (_) character instead of spaces. Filenames should be descriptive

of the contents of the file.

Scanned documents MUST be legible when viewed with Internet Explorer. Scanned documents MUST be oriented properly (i.e. not upside down or sideways).

Scanning Tips

Every scanner and its accompanying software are different, so follow themanufacturers instructions to get started.

When scanning things with a lot of text such as forms and brochures, scan ingrayscale mode. Some scanning programs allow you to specify the type of document

you are scanning, such as an image, a page with print, or a page with print andimages. Some scanning programs also allow you to pre-determine what type of file

you are going to save the results to (such as an image, a Word document, etc). Work

with these settings until you get a clear, legible image.

Writing Documents with MS Word

Write your documents using MS Word or a

compatible application. Save all such documents with

a .doc or .docx file extension.

Burning Your Capstone Paper to CD-R

Once you are finished compiling allthe filesfor your Capstone paper, write or burn the data to a

CD-R. Burn the Capstone paper with the directoryand subdirectory structure that is outlined above.

Labeling your Jewel Case and CD-R

We have provided a CD jewel case insert on the website with other Capstone-related

documents. Type the appropriate information and print this insert. Read the authorship

statement and sign the insert in ink. You can print it on plain paper (although heavier stock

works better), then cut it out and slip it inside the front cover of the CD jewel case. Thishelps us identify your CD case, and helps us verify that the material contained on the CD

reflects your own scholarship. It is also a good idea to label the CD itself. You can stomp it

with an adhesive label or use a Sharpie marker.

General Guidelines for Burning your CD-RAcceptable File Types (formats)

.pdf (Adobe PDF is the first choice, using Adobe Acrobat reader 5.0 or better) .jpg (Joint Photographic Experts Groupan image fileis a second choice) .gif (Graphic Interchange Formatan image fileis also a second choice)

When is the Capstone paper

due?

The Capstone paper is due to the

Capstone instructor not later than 10

days following the last class meeting

of your Capstone course. This allows

plenty of time to fine-tune the paper

and manage the CD burning of the

Capstone paper and all of the related

documents.


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.doc or .docx (MS Word 97 or a later version) .xls (MS Excel 97 or a later version) .html/.htm (HyperText Markup Languagea web page)

Tips

When you think you are finished burning the Capstone paper, test it. Open eachdocument, making sure that there are no errors and that everything displays as you intend it

to. Take the CD-R to

another computer and, again, test the CD-R to make sure it works.

REMEMBER: It is essential that you keep a copy of your

electronic Capstone Paper! The Capstone Paper you submit to

the University will not be returned to you!

In the Classroom

During the course, your instructor may require that you bring hard-copy drafts ofparts of your Capstone to class to share in work sessions or to submit as homework. These

requests are at the discretion of your instructor and do not affect the final electronic

submission of your Capstone paper.

When you think you are finished

burning the Capstone paper, test it.

Open each document, making sure

that there are no errors and that

everything displays as you intend

that it should. Take the CD-R to

another computer and test the CD-R

to make sure it works.


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REFERENCES

Leedy, P. D. & Ormrod, J. E. (2001).Practical research: Planning and design. (7th

ed.).

New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Neufeldt, V.E. (Ed.). (1988). Websters new world dictionary.New York: Simon &

Schuster.

University of Redlands. (2009). Catalog. Redlands, CA: Author.

Valenty, J. T. (2011, March 22). (Letter to Michelle McBride). Capstone Documents Archive,Redlands, CA.


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APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY

Analysis and Integration in Business and ManagementThis is the title of BUSB 485, the finalcourse in the BSB degree program.

Analysis and Integration in Business and Management PaperThis is the final paper written inthe BSB program that utilizes the Artifact papers written in some of the previous courses. The

student first selects a target organization and then selects a topic option that provides developmental

guidelines for the paper.

Artifact PaperA paper written in a BSB course that meets the subject-specific requirements of

that course and can then be used later as a resource for the Analysis and Integration Paper written

in BUSB 485. There are five Artifact courses offered in this sequence in the BSB program:BUSB 300, BUSB 330, BUSB 340, BUSB 342, and BUSB 361.It is possible that not all BSB

students will have completed all five of the Artifact Papers prior to BUSB 485 based on transfer

waivers or entering at the second or third enrollment points.

Artifact UpdatesPrior to the start of BUSB 485 all Artifact papers will be updated to reflect

currency and applicability to the approved Capstone Paper topic and submitted to the Capstone

instructor for review. The deadline for submitting these updates will be provided by the Capstoneinstructor early in your Capstone engagement.

BSB Program TextsSave ALL of your BSB program textbooks for use in developing your

Capstone paper!

Blackboard (Bb)This is the web-based instructional program used by the University to

facilitate teaching and communications for all undergraduate program courses.

Capstone CourseThis is the informal reference to BUSB 485: Analysis and Integration

in Business and Management.

Capstone InstructorThis is the faculty member assigned to your cluster to teach BUSB

485. You will meet your Capstone instructor during BUSB 481: Strategic Management so you

can began the initial stages of development for your Capstone Paperidentifying a targetorganization; selecting a topic option; and receiving general information and a timeline about

the course, the pre-class assignments, and communications prior to the start of BUSB 485.

Capstone PaperThis is the informal reference for the Analysis and Integration in Businessand Management Paper.

Peer Response WorkshopsThese are in-class activities in BUSB 485 when studentsprovide helpful feedback to classmates on written and oral assignments. Orientation for the

process is provided in the classroom; forms are in Appendix C of this Guide and also among


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the Student Resources for the program on the website.

Student Services ManagerThis is the person with whom you should discuss all issues relatedto completing all graduation requirements. If you need to earn units outside of the BSB program

to meet General Education or other graduation requirements, or if it becomes necessary for you

to withdraw from a course or the program, please do not delay in contacting your StudentServices Manager.

Target OrganizationThis is the business or industry that you choose as the focus of your

Capstone Paper.

Topic OptionThere are three topic options for the development of a Capstone Paper.

You may choose to write a business or industry analysis, an analysis of a business or

industry problem, or you may propose a business innovation.

Topic Proposal FormStudents submit this form to the Capstone Instructor to indicate the

selection of the target organization and the topic option. The instructor will approve the proposalor recommend that revisions be made. Changes to a target organization or a topic option require

submission of a new Topic Proposal Form. An approved Topic Proposal Form is required before

the start of BUSB 485. The Topic Proposal form is Appendix B in this Guide and is also among

the Student Resources for the program on the website.

Undergraduate Program DirectorThis is the person charged with the administration

and oversight of all aspects of the BSB program. You may contact your UndergraduateProgram Director with any questions or concerns about the BSB program and its courses or this

Capstone Paper and the BUSB 485 course:[email protected] (Please direct concerns

about classroom and facilities management issues to the Campus Director at your local campus.)
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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APPENDIX B: BSB Capstone Topic Proposal Form

BSB Capstone Topic Proposal

Name

Clustere-mail address

Daytime phone number

Evening phone number

Topic Option Description Check one:

#1 Business Analysis#2 Problem Analysis

#3 Business Innovation

Proposed Title _____________________________________________________________

Prioritization of Topic Proposal:

This is my _____first topic choice ______second topic choice _____third topic choice

Description____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

____I will ____I will not need approval from my employer to develop this paper.

Please discuss these topics in the space allotted. These should help you to identify the focus

and the scope of your Capstone paper.

1. Background:


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2. What is the current situation?

3. What should be the desired situation?

4. Identify the problem/purpose of your paper:

5. What is the scope of your paper?

6. What are the benefits to be gained from investigating your topic?


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Course

Sequence

Course Title Check the five course

subject areas to be

included in your

Capstone PaperBUSB 300 Ethical and Legal Environment of Business

BUSB 230 Economics for Business

BUSB 145 Mathematical Foundations for Business

BUSB 301 Critical Analysis: Written and Oral

Communication

BUSB 330 Managing and Leading Organizations

BUSB 232 Business Statistics

BUSB 333 Business Information Systems

BUSB 340 Principles of Marketing

BUSB 260 Financial and Managerial Accounting

BUSB 433 GIS for BusinessBUSB342 International Business

BUSB 361 Financial Management

BUSB 370 Managing Quality and Operations

BUSB 481 Strategic Management

APPROVAL BY CAPSTONE INSTRUCTOR

________ Approved________ Approved with required modifications

________ Not approved

Comments:

Capstone Instructor _____________________________________________________

Date _________________________________________________________________


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APPENDIX C Peer Response Workshops

Since writers write to communicate with audiences, it can often be very helpful to

hear from those audiences duringthe writing process. As you draft and revise your Capstonepapers, receiving feedback from your peers helps to identify questions for further

exploration, isolates moments of confusion, and provides an interactive environment inwhich to work with other students. This peer response process can also be applied to the

updates to your artifact papers and your oral report.

Following are ways to explore the writer-audience dynamic in BUSB 485. The

central idea is that you will read your classmates work and provide feedback for the writers.One key assumption informs everything that appears in this process: these peer response

groups work with the idea that you are respondingto each others work, not evaluatingit.

Peer response groups are not about grading or evaluating each others work. Instead, the

emphasis is on the writer-audience relationship. As classmates, you are audiences for eachothers ideas and, as such, you can provide crucial feedback about issues raised in the

writings. As readers, you can ask about parts that confused you or tell the writer about placeswhere you might like to have seen more explanation or examples. In many cases, you will beable to suggest helpful references you have come across in your own research or provide

ideas relating to your own area of expertise.

WHAT ABOUTRead each others writing and generate a list of questions that begin with the phrase What

about? The form of this question is open-ended and asks you to generate ideas about what

the writers might consider further.

QUESTION ON EVERY PAGERead each others work and write a question on each page of the text. This exercise oftenworks best when you ask open questions that begin with How and Why. Questions thatpress for precision are also helpful, such as Who? When? What? and Under what

conditions? Less helpful questions are ones that can be answered with a simple yes or no

because they can foreclose on further exploration.

QUESTIONS FROM THE WRITERAs the writer, develop a set of questions you would like your readers to consider as they read

the piece. Again, open-ended questions are more helpful.

RESPONSE LETTERRead each others work, but this time do not write anything down as you read. Just read andtry to take in what you can. Afterwards, write a letter to the writer that considers as manyissues from the reading you can recall. Letters might pose questions, try to summarize some

points, and offer other perspectives. The response letter is an attempt to focus on a holistic

reading of the piece.


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Peer Response Worksheet #1

(Blank forms can be downloaded from the web site.)

Author:

Respondent:

1. What is the writers topic?

2. What is the writer trying to claim about the topic?

3. What moments in the piece seemed particularly important to you? Intriguing? Explain thereasons for your choices.

4. What moments in the piece confused you? Explain. Where would you like to see moreexamples or more explanation of an example?

5. Develop two or three questions about the piece that the writer might consider forrevision.


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33

Peer Response Sheet #2

Author: Respondent:

TOPIC THESIS

INTRIGUINGASPECTSPoints of Confusion, Vagueness,

Unsubstantiated Claims

Questions for the Writer to Consider:


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Adobe PDF .......................................................... 23

Analysis and Integration in Business and

Management ................................................ 3, 26

Analysis and Integration in Business and

Management Paper .......................................... 26

APA ................................................................. v, 14

Appendix A ......................................................... 26

Appendix B .......................................................... 28

Appendix C .......................................................... 31

Armacost Library ............................................... v, 2

Artifact Faculty ...................................................... 1

Artifact Papers .......... .......... ........... .......... ... 8, 12, 26

Artifact Reflection and Updating.......... ........... ...... 10

Artifact Reflection and Updating Process .............. 13

Artifact Updates ................................................... 26

Assessment .......................................................... 17

Assistant Campus Director .................................. 27

Blackboard ..................................................... 18, 26

BSB Program Texts ............................................. 26

Burning your CD-R ............................................. 23

BUSB 145 ............................................................ 30BUSB 230 ............................................................ 30

BUSB 232 ............................................................ 30

BUSB 260 ............................................................ 30

BUSB 300 .......... ..... i, 1, 5, 7, 10, 12, 20, 21, 26, 30

BUSB 301 ............................................................ 30

BUSB 330 .......... ........... i, 1, 5, 7, 10, 12, 20, 21, 30

BUSB 333 ............................................................ 30

BUSB 340 .......... ........... i, 1, 5, 7, 12, 20, 21, 26, 30

BUSB 342 .......... ........... .... i, 1, 7, 12, 20, 21, 26, 30

BUSB 361 .......... ........... i, 1, 5, 7, 12, 20, 21, 26, 30

BUSB 370 ............................................................ 30

BUSB 433 ............................................................ 30

BUSB 481 ............................................................ 30BUSB 485 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 26, 27,

31

Business Analysis ............................................ 5, 28

Business Context ................................................. 16

Business Innovation ..................................... 5, 6, 28

Capstone Course .............................. 3, 9, 12, 18, 26

Capstone Engagement .......................................... iv

Capstone Instructor .......................... 1, 9, 26, 27, 30

Capstone Paper .......................................... 4, 21, 26

Capstone Paper. ...................................................... 8

Capstone Timeline ................................................. 9

CD-R ....................................... 4, 10, 11, 20, 23, 24

Changes to an Approved Topic Proposal ............ 10Chapter I ................................................................ 1

Chapter II ............................................................... 3

Chapter III ............................................................. 4

Chapter IV ............................................................. 9

Chapter V............................................................. 12

Chapter VI ........................................................... 20

Citation and Formatting Styles .............................. v

Components 12

Components of the Capstone Paper .................. ... 13

Copyright ............................................................. 22

Current Business Capabilities ......... ........... .......... 16

Current Business Strategies ................................. 16

Definitions ..................................................... 15, 16

Delivery of the Capstone Paper ........................... 20

Ethical and Legal Environment of Business ...... 1, 7

Final Submission of the Capstone Paper ............. 20

Financial Management ...................................... 1, 7

Five Forces Model .......... .......... ........... .......... ... 5, 17

Front Matter ....................................... 11, 14, 20, 21

Glossary ............................................................... 26

Grading Criteria for the Artifact Paper Updates .. 13

Grading Criteria for the Capstone Paper ........... ... 17

Gregory, Lua .......................................................... 2

International Business ........................................ 1, 7

Keep a Copy of Your Capstone Paper. ........... ..... 11

Labeling your Jewel Case and CD-R .......... ......... 23

Learning Objectives ............................................... 3

MacNeil, Dr. Denise .................................. 2, 11, 27

Managing and Leading Organizations ............... .... 1Managing and Leading Organizations) ........... ....... 7

Oral Report .................................................... 18, 19

Overview of the Electronic Capstone Paper ........ 20

Peer Response Process of Oral Presentations ...... 18

Peer Response Sheet #2 ....................................... 33

Peer Response Worksheet #1 .......... ........... .......... 32

Peer Response Workshops ........... .......... ........ 26, 31

Porters Five Forces Model.................................. 5

Pre-class Assignment ........................................... 10

Principles of Marketing .................................... iv, 1

Principles of Marketing) ........................................ 7

Problem Analysis ......................................... 5, 6, 28

Purpose ................................................................ 15References ............................................................ 25

Role of the Artifacts in the Capstone Paper ............. 7

Scanning Guidelines ............................................ 22

Scanning Original Documents ............................. 22

Scanning Tips ...................................................... 23

Scope ............................................................. 15, 16

Structure and Layout of Directories and Files ..... 20

Student Services Manager ................................... 26

SWOT Analysis .......... ........... .......... .......... ....... 5, 17

Table of Contents for the Capstone Paper ........... 21

Target Organization ............................... 4, 5, 15, 27

Text ...................................................................... 15

Timeline of Capstone Engagement .......... .......... ... ivTopic Option ................................ 13, 15, 18, 27, 28

Topic Proposal Form ............. 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 27, 28

Undergraduate Program Director .............. 2, 11, 27

Updates to Artifacts ....................................... 10, 17

Utilization of AV and PowerPoint Resources ..... 18

Writing Tutor ....................................................... 12

www.quickmba.com .......... ........... .......... ........... ..... 5

www redlands edu v 2 23