Introduction (1-2 pages)

• Purpose: Provides the big picture of the case study.
• Write the Introduction as a big-picture summary of the entire project. It should not have too much detail—just enough to cover what problem, challenge, opportunity, or issue the project was about, how the research was done, and what the analysis revealed.

Problem, Challenge, Opportunity, or Issue (2-3 pages)

• Purpose: State what the study was about.
• Describes the central problem, challenge, opportunity, or issue and why that subject was chosen.
• Explains what was to be achieved by completion of the research efforts, and what the project examined.
• Defines the limits of the project—what was able to be addressed, as well as what was beyond the scope of the project.

Significance of the Study (2-3 pages)

• Purpose: Convinces readers that the topic was worthwhile to research.
• Explain what can be gained and learned from a study like this one.
• Why was this topic an important subject to research?
• Address each of the three following three areas of significance; include a subheading for each area in your paper.
• Significance to the Writer: Why was the topic significant to you, the writer?
• Significance to Stakeholders: Why would the topic be considered significant to particular stakeholders (e.g., a group or team, department, division, company, sister companies, alliances, shareholders, etc.)?
• Broader Implications: Identify broader implications of the topic, if applicable, for the following:
  1. The larger industry of which your organization is a part.
  2. Global significance.

Organization Overview (3-4 pages)

• Purpose: Presents the organization or industry overview as pertinent to the project topic.

• In this section of the paper provide an overview of the organization and/or the industry, as pertinent to the project topic. It can begin with some information on the organization and/or the industry itself, to set the context of the project. Consider also inclusion of organization history, structure, geographical location, mission, vision, values, goals, SWOT analysis (great inclusion as a smaller graphic), source of competitive advantage for the company, products and services, competitors, financial strength, buyer influence, supplier influence, market share, and other pertinent facts.

• Briefly discuss how the topic of your Applied HR Management Capstone Project relates to the organization, and how the solutions or recommendations addressing the topic will have a potential impact on the organization and/or the industry.

Identification and Discussion of Issues (2-3 pages)

·Purpose: Establishes the foundational issues to be analyzed in detail later in the Case Solution.

• This section narrows the focus of the topic by identifying the key issues you are pursuing in your research and how those issues specifically relate to your topic. One of these key issues should include the ethical dimension of your topic (which also counts toward one of the four minimum MS-HRM course selection sources).
• Identify the primary research question(s).
• Include additional key questions (limit to no more than 3-4 key questions) that will guide your research and be answered by the project research. Write one or two substantive paragraphs for each question, providing information about the question, why it was selected, and how it is linked to the capstone project.
• Define key terms (those that are specific to the project which may not be readily known).
• Conclude this section with a description of the methodology—the method(s) used to gather and analyze the information (e.g., literature review, observation, survey, interview, non-obtrusive data such as financial reports or safety reports). Describe the research steps taken to obtain the facts used to address the project questions. Also include potential biases of the researcher and limitations of the research process.

PROJECT SOLUTION

(Begin a new page

Information and Literature Review (5-6 pages)

• Purpose: Presents facts and information from outside sources on the topic of your project.

• Begin this section with a brief summary of the problem and purpose (2-3 sentences maximum; no heading).

• This is a topical presentation from your formal research of what others have written and developed on the subject and identified as key issues of your project topic. It will cover a minimum of twenty-five primary and secondary sources varied by type of scholarly source. This section is to demonstrate your ability to discover and summarize the key research that has been done in this area. Unless otherwise pre-approved by your professor, all written sources should be at least 3-5 pages in length and published within the last 3-5 years. Use a wide variety of sources and several perspectives in order to present a balanced view, including: peer-reviewed articles; professional interviews, primary data from your organization, IWU course textbooks or resources; organization, industry, professional, government or other reports; web-based external scanning sources, and so forth.

The review should utilize transitions and summary thoughts in your own words, not be made up of just a series of quotes, “plugged” data or inserted biblical quotes without integration of critical analysis and thought. The literature review is to be presented in a logical sequence. All direct quotes and paraphrased information from an outside source must be properly cited in accordance with APA standards.

Since this is a capstone project, you will include in your research cited information pertaining to laws, theories, policies, practices, and/or concepts, as applicable, from at least four of the eleven prior coursework topics included in your MS-HRM program:

1. MGMT500 Applied Management Theory

2. MGMT512 Ethics and Legal Aspects of Management

3. COMM-515 Decision Making and Essential Business Communication

4. HRMT535 Human Resources Management

5. FINC525 Accounting and Finance for Managers

6. HRMT536 Evidence-based Tools for HR Decision Making

7. HRMT537 Staffing, Performance Management, and Training

8. HRMT538 Total Rewards Management

9. HRMT539 Labor Management Relations in the Global HR Environment

10. HRMT541 Strategic Risk Assessment

11. HRMT542 Organizational Renewal and Development

• Begin this section with a brief summary of the problem and purpose (2-3 sentences maximum).

Analysis of Key Issues (5-6 pages)

• Purpose: Considered to be the “heart” of the project, analysis thoroughly examines all of the information and literature discovered in the research.
• This section goes beyond the Information and Literature Review to give your analysis of the facts and information discovered from internal and outside sources. What themes appear, and what does the information show? What do the facts “say” about the issues pertaining to your topic, including the ethical and Biblical dimension of your topic? The best way to organize this section is to repeat the primary and guiding key questions (that were presented earlier), and use the results from the study to answer them. This is to be your analysis, but statements must exhibit a rationale based on the research. Feel free to cite sources within this section.
• Begin this section with a restatement of the purpose of the research project (2-3 sentences maximum; no heading).
• Identify and categorize research findings; describe the findings in relationship to the literature, theory, and practice.
• Answer the primary and key research questions. Restate the original research question in the form of a question and proceed to answer the question based on research findings. For the key research questions, do not actually restate them in the form of an actual question; instead, answer them more directly and as supported by your analysis of the research findings. restatement of them in the form of an actual question.

Recommendations and Conclusion (4-5 pages)

• Purpose: Offers specific recommendations, action steps and a conclusion.

• Based on your analysis of the research findings, make recommendations for the problem, challenge, opportunity, or issue you identified as the topic of your Capstone Project.

• Include action steps to implement those recommendations as well as resources or materials required for implementation (e.g., policies, procedures, guidelines, program(s), handbook, checklist(s), and so forth). Include

• Discuss implications for practice for your proposed action steps and

• Identify limitations of the Capstone Project research findings.

• Make suggestions for potential future research that could expand on your research project findings and/or recommendations.

• Close with concluding remarks (1-2 paragraphs).