Too Tired? Too Anxious? Need More Time? We’ve got your back.
1. Choose a topic. The topic should be of interest to you, it must be able to be tied to the
company you choose to research, and it must be among the topics covered in the class.
Try to set boundaries for your topic. For example: “Motivation” is a very large topic and
will be difficult to research. Instead, consider focusing on “reward systems as a
motivation tool at NIKE” or “the role of job design for employee motivation at
Comcast.”
Some recommended topics are listed below. Your team is welcome to choose another
topic and request to use that topic through the instructor.
o Analyze a company’s reward system based on motivation theories.
o Analyze motivation in a company using one of the following:
§ Goal setting theory
§ Expectancy theory
§ Equity theory
o Analyze jobs from a design perspective
o Analyze jobs from a motivation perspective
o Review a company’s performance management system
o Review a company’s stress management programs
o Analyze a company’s organizational communication (as long as you are specific,
such as “written communication”, “use of e-mails,” “suggestion systems”, social
media, etc.)
o Analyze a company’s organizational culture.
o Review how the company will go through organizational change.
o Review a company’s work/life balance through flexible work schedules
o Identify current and possible new organizational structure as needed for the
company
2. Find a company to study. Using your personal network when deciding on a company is
recommended. The company you select and your topic should have some connection to
each other. For example, studying teams in an organization that is not using teams would
probably not be appropriate.
3. Conduct a literature review. Read the relevant sections from your book, as well as at least
5 peer reviewed journal articles (from 2010 – current) directly related to your chosen
topic. You can find the journals online through the PSU library. You can use online
databases such as EBSCO host located in the PSU library website. Articles found on the
worldwide web (such as articles contained in the websites of consulting companies, or
papers you find through search engines such as yahoo or google) are not acceptable for
this part of the project. Please verify your sources are peer-reviewed using
Ulrich’s. This identifies the JOURNAL as peer-reviewed which means all articles
published in the journal are also peer-reviewed.
4. Research the company through interviews and other sources: If you can interview (via
Zoom or other electronic means) any current employees please do so – this will help
strengthen your reasoning. If one or more of your team member’s work at the company,
they must be interviewed by another team member. There is too much bias if they just
add their ideas to the paper without the proper vetting. In addition, gather information
regarding how your chosen company is dealing with your chosen topic during the
pandemic. This can be found through the company website, news articles, and other
sources.
5. Brainstorm your recommendations based on your research. What can or should the
company do, based on your topic, to be successful either during the pandemic or after the
pandemic? Provide these recommendations and include the strengths and weaknesses
you found through your research. In other words, what would have to happen to
implement your recommendation(s). What could go wrong? What could go right?
6. Write up the paper. The paper should be 10 to 15 pages double spaced, excluding the
references and appendix (you may put your interview questions and responses in
the appendix). Use size 12 times new roman, with 1-inch margins on all sides. 1. Choose a topic. The topic should be of interest to you, it must be able to be tied to the
company you choose to research, and it must be among the topics covered in the class.
Try to set boundaries for your topic. For example: “Motivation” is a very large topic and
will be difficult to research. Instead, consider focusing on “reward systems as a
motivation tool at NIKE” or “the role of job design for employee motivation at
Comcast.”
Some recommended topics are listed below. Your team is welcome to choose another
topic and request to use that topic through the instructor.
o Analyze a company’s reward system based on motivation theories.
o Analyze motivation in a company using one of the following:
§ Goal setting theory
§ Expectancy theory
§ Equity theory
o Analyze jobs from a design perspective
o Analyze jobs from a motivation perspective
o Review a company’s performance management system
o Review a company’s stress management programs
o Analyze a company’s organizational communication (as long as you are specific,
such as “written communication”, “use of e-mails,” “suggestion systems”, social
media, etc.)
o Analyze a company’s organizational culture.
o Review how the company will go through organizational change.
o Review a company’s work/life balance through flexible work schedules
o Identify current and possible new organizational structure as needed for the
company
2. Find a company to study. Using your personal network when deciding on a company is
recommended. The company you select and your topic should have some connection to
each other. For example, studying teams in an organization that is not using teams would
probably not be appropriate.
3. Conduct a literature review. Read the relevant sections from your book, as well as at least
5 peer reviewed journal articles (from 2010 – current) directly related to your chosen
topic. You can find the journals online through the PSU library. You can use online
databases such as EBSCO host located in the PSU library website. Articles found on the
worldwide web (such as articles contained in the websites of consulting companies, or
papers you find through search engines such as yahoo or google) are not acceptable for
this part of the project. Please verify your sources are peer-reviewed using
Ulrich’s. This identifies the JOURNAL as peer-reviewed which means all articles
published in the journal are also peer-reviewed.
4. Research the company through interviews and other sources: If you can interview (via
Zoom or other electronic means) any current employees please do so – this will help
strengthen your reasoning. If one or more of your team member’s work at the company,
they must be interviewed by another team member. There is too much bias if they just
add their ideas to the paper without the proper vetting. In addition, gather information
regarding how your chosen company is dealing with your chosen topic during the
pandemic. This can be found through the company website, news articles, and other
sources.
5. Brainstorm your recommendations based on your research. What can or should the
company do, based on your topic, to be successful either during the pandemic or after the
pandemic? Provide these recommendations and include the strengths and weaknesses
you found through your research. In other words, what would have to happen to
implement your recommendation(s). What could go wrong? What could go right?
6. Write up the paper. The paper should be 10 to 15 pages double spaced, excluding the
references and appendix (you may put your interview questions and responses in
the appendix). Use size 12 times new roman, with 1-inch margins on all sides. 1. Choose a topic. The topic should be of interest to you, it must be able to be tied to the
company you choose to research, and it must be among the topics covered in the class.
Try to set boundaries for your topic. For example: “Motivation” is a very large topic and
will be difficult to research. Instead, consider focusing on “reward systems as a
motivation tool at NIKE” or “the role of job design for employee motivation at
Comcast.”
Some recommended topics are listed below. Your team is welcome to choose another
topic and request to use that topic through the instructor.
o Analyze a company’s reward system based on motivation theories.
o Analyze motivation in a company using one of the following:
§ Goal setting theory
§ Expectancy theory
§ Equity theory
o Analyze jobs from a design perspective
o Analyze jobs from a motivation perspective
o Review a company’s performance management system
o Review a company’s stress management programs
o Analyze a company’s organizational communication (as long as you are specific,
such as “written communication”, “use of e-mails,” “suggestion systems”, social
media, etc.)
o Analyze a company’s organizational culture.
o Review how the company will go through organizational change.
o Review a company’s work/life balance through flexible work schedules
o Identify current and possible new organizational structure as needed for the
company
2. Find a company to study. Using your personal network when deciding on a company is
recommended. The company you select and your topic should have some connection to
each other. For example, studying teams in an organization that is not using teams would
probably not be appropriate.
3. Conduct a literature review. Read the relevant sections from your book, as well as at least
5 peer reviewed journal articles (from 2010 – current) directly related to your chosen
topic. You can find the journals online through the PSU library. You can use online
databases such as EBSCO host located in the PSU library website. Articles found on the
worldwide web (such as articles contained in the websites of consulting companies, or
papers you find through search engines such as yahoo or google) are not acceptable for
this part of the project. Please verify your sources are peer-reviewed using
Ulrich’s. This identifies the JOURNAL as peer-reviewed which means all articles
published in the journal are also peer-reviewed.
4. Research the company through interviews and other sources: If you can interview (via
Zoom or other electronic means) any current employees please do so – this will help
strengthen your reasoning. If one or more of your team member’s work at the company,
they must be interviewed by another team member. There is too much bias if they just
add their ideas to the paper without the proper vetting. In addition, gather information
regarding how your chosen company is dealing with your chosen topic during the
pandemic. This can be found through the company website, news articles, and other
sources.
5. Brainstorm your recommendations based on your research. What can or should the
company do, based on your topic, to be successful either during the pandemic or after the
pandemic? Provide these recommendations and include the strengths and weaknesses
you found through your research. In other words, what would have to happen to
implement your recommendation(s). What could go wrong? What could go right?
6. Write up the paper. The paper should be 10 to 15 pages double spaced, excluding the
references and appendix (you may put your interview questions and responses in
the appendix). Use size 12 times new roman, with 1-inch margins on all sides.
Too Tired? Too Anxious? Need More Time? We’ve got your back.