Final Project Prompt BTW 250 (B2)

STAKEHOLDER ECOLOGY
INTRODUCTION As we enter the final phase of the course, our attention will now turn towards some of the more conceptual aspects of how a firm operates amid a swarm of FORCES.1 The evolving narrative that developed during the past few weeks can be read as a coherent simulation of textual production whereby clusters of desired consequences (and the inevitable challenges that followed) were synthesized into descriptive and evaluative writing in the form of letters, memos, reports, and proposals. These materials, collected in a chronological order, function for an audience as a kind of meta-text that narrates the production of the texts themselves. For the final project, we will continue to work within the simulated environments we have created during the collaborative assignment. We can think of a firm mechanically in that, just like an engine, a firm is installed within a preexisting structure/situation. Just as an engine must be connected to other mechanical/pneumatic/hydraulic/electrical systems through a complex set of calculation and calibration, a firm must be installed within an existing ecology2 of relations. The process, both for the engine and the entire biotic world, requires adaptation.3 Of course, since our firm is part of a simulation, we will not perform the (actual) legal, financial, and otherwise technical operations by which a firm would become wired into a local and/or global structure. But before any aspects of this installation process, a certain type of reading/writing is typically undertaken by STAKEHOLDERS. RESEARCH, the process whereby a firm examines the ecology into which it will incorporate itself will now become our focus as we enter the final phase of BTW 250. Just as professionals perform research that examines how DESIRED CONSEQUENCES must be reassessed in lieu of a set of parameters (legal, geographical, or otherwise), your group will research how the narrative you created in the group collaboration project exists with regards to:
ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY GLOBALIZING MARKETS INCREASING COMPLEXITY MAKING A PROFIT MANAGING RISKS OPERATING LEGALLY RULE OF LAW

= ENVIRONMENT
= REREAD THE WIKI PAGE(S)!
re

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All terms in bold caps refer to entries on the BTW WIKI. Remember, ecology and economy have the same Greek root oikos: house, household. To use another analogy, imagine your firm is an app: if someone downloaded it, and tried to run it, would it work?

Question: Why did I capitalize the word ecology? Question: How are economies like ecologies?
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We will be using these categories (and the wiki in which they appear) as a springboard to perform primary and secondary research. The research you will be conducting (as part of the installation) will be directed towards the narrative your group created as a product of the collaborative assignment. You will be conducting primary and secondary research (see wiki) in order to create REPORTS that assess how each

aspect of 21st century business corresponds to your consulting firm and the world within which it operates.
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PRIMARY RESEARCH Although primary research is not the primary means of gathering information in this project, you will be asked to conduct primary research in the form of SURVEY. The survey will be comprised of questions created by the group as a whole and may focus on any aspect of the ongoing considerations of STAKEHOLDERS and ENVIRONMENTAL FORCES). SECONDARY RESEARCH Since each group contains multiple DEPARTMENTS, research methodologies (and the texts utilized) will/may vary. One of the objectives for this assignment is to expand the researching capabilities of each student with regards to his/her major and his/her ability to summarize, interpret, and evaluate data accumulated through primary and secondary methods. Remember: just as with any other writerly process, research demands a constant consideration of a sources CREDIBILITY, which, in turn affect the writers credibility as well (Why?). As you conduct your research in order to assess how the ENVIRONMENT affects the DESIRED CONSEQUENCES of the firm, you will consider how each piece of information you come across functions as an AFFORDANCE towards some end (ex. ARGUING that the business would be PROFITABLE). Read the JUDGING AUDIENCE FORUMS page on the WIKI. Remember: the UIUC Library is one of the best in the country and there are plenty of librarians and employees who can help you find ways to find information that you never knew existed. (Ex. if youre working on the finance aspect of the project, pay a visit to the Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library).

In theory, one cannot be disentangled from the other, right?

REQUIREMENTS
This project has (5) major units (to be completed in the following order): I. Group Work Agreement (GWA) and Schedule of Deliverables (see prompt for Collaborative Assignment on Moodle) II. Initial SWOT Assessment/Reflection Our first brainstorming assignment will involve assessing the STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND THREATS (SWOT report) that face your consulting firm at present. This assessment will help the group develop issues/questions/challenges/conflicts that can be used as a springboard for thinking about STAKEHOLDERS and ENVIRONMENT. Ideally, the SWOT assessment will serve to create a portrait of the groups desired consequences before attempting to install the firm within the mainframe the primary and secondary research will soon explore. III. An Ecology of Stakeholders 1. Brainstorm: who are your projects STAKEHOLDERS ? (just to emphasize: as in, the WIKIs definition of STAKEHOLDER). 2. Take a look at Bruce Ericksons cognitive map on the bottom of the SELECT RELATIONSHIPS page. 3. Make a cognitive map with the same AFFORDANCES as this one (i.e. it doesnt/wont look exactly like this one) by defining the relationship between your STAKEHOLDERS with regards to their DESIRED CONSEQUENCES (ex. my financial backers desired consequences are positioned diametrically with regards to my competitions). The map must be designed/formatted in a logical way (think back to resumes). It should also satisfy the AUDIENCE FORUM requirements of #4 (size, scale, colors, contrast, visibility to a classroom of students, etc.) 4. Make the map in whatever software youre comfortable working with, but youll probably want to import/reformat it into something like a .pdf file as well need to bring it up on the projector screen (= it will be an element of your SLIDE SHOW more on this below). IV. Survey The survey will begin as a brainstorming process between departments. Ask yourself, What usable date might my department glean from a survey of college-aged students? and, then, What kind of questions should I ask to achieve my DESIRED CONSEQUENCES? Every question has an AFFORDANCE. Keep in mind the ARGUMENT that your research is serving. Imagine you clients have asked you to conduct this (more) in-depth research so as to better understand how STAKEHOLDERS are attached, in an ecological way, to a CAUSE-AND-EFFECT relationship

between FORCES with respect to ORGANIZATIONAL SITUATEDNESS (this is also something to consider with regards to RESEARCH in general). You will turn in a draft of the original mass of questions that are generated, along with the final list of survey questions that were/will be used. Minimum of 5 credible questions that linked to your DESIRED CONSEQUENCES. Conduct the survey on the quad. Make it seem as if the company actually exists. Evaluate the results and create a brief report summarizing and evaluating them. The survey will come in handy when you come to IV. Organizational Situatedness Create a map of the ORGANIZATIONAL SITUATEDNESS of your firm (take a look at the wiki page itll make a lot more sense). Be specific. IV. REPORTING RESEARCH Since this assignments main objective is to improve students researching skills, primary (including interview) and secondary research on ENVIRONMENT will be communicated in a wellconceived and well-executed FINAL REPORT. Advancing Technology Globalizing Markets Increasing Complexity Making a Profit Managing Risks Operating Legally Rule of Law ENVIRONMENT

FINAL REPORT

For each element of the Environment, the group must validate and use at least (3) sources (youll look at more than you end up using, of course). The environmental parameters can overlap between departments, but the above caveat must be met (= 3 total for each element). I would recommend each group member picking three or so elements, then see whats leftover and apportion them/volunteer to cover them. For each source you use, write an evaluative executive summary memo (= JUDGING CREDIBILITY). When writing the final report, group members must write collaboratively, using the evaluative memos as guide through the source materials The ARGUMENT of the FINAL REPORT is a report to your STAKEHOLDERS (in theory the firm would publish it and make available to them in an electronic format). For the Final Report itself:

1. Final Report should reflect the consultation of at least (3) sources for each element (21 total). 2. Final Report should be (1) page (single-spaced, block paragraphs, standard heading, etc.) per ENVIRONMENTal element. I stress, of course, that this is the minimum with regards to sourcing. This amounts to 8-10 single-spaced pages total. 3. The evaluative summary memos will be turned in with the Final Report A cover letter will accompany the report. It will be addressed to the CEO of the consultation conglomerate: Charles Mock 1000 Skyscraper Alley Chicago, IL 60603 V. Presentation/Slide Show The final element of the project will be a 10-15 (slide show) presentation. The desired consequence of this element it to present the entire narrative that was created during the collaborative/final project. As you might guess, the difficulty of this element lies in the compression that will be necessary to present that narrative. Each group member must contribute to the presentation itself (i.e. in its presenting). The presentation will be assessed on how well the narrative itself is illustrated (desired consequences, conflicts, complications, etc.). As noted above, video and/or audio from the interview will be an element of the presentation itself. Presentations will take place on May 6/8. Groups will sign up for one of these dates sometime during the next few weeks.

DELIVERABLES:
(ONE) Microsoft Word file: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Group Work Agreement SWOT Assessment/Reflection Stakeholders Map Survey Questions and Report of Results Organization Situatedness Map Final Report

(Individual group member evaluations will also be requested at the end of the project) How will we be graded? Students will receive an initial base-line grade for the materials they submit as a group. A final grade will then be computed for each individual student based on: participation

quality of individual research group member evaluations