Instructions
- More along the lines of a Masters Project than a Thesis or a Research Paper.
- Six section headings (Centered, bolded, Cap first letter:
- Introduction: why is this important and light background. 2-3 pages
- Research Question: One or two sentences, with one being an open ended question that drives the body of the paper
- Literature and Resource review: 8-10 pages of detailed background leading up to the research question
- Argument and Analysis: 8-10 pages of detailed answer to the research question
- Conclusion: 2-3 pages of takeaways and include a paragraph of Recommended Future Research. Only place in the paper for opinion is conclusion.
- References
- For APA, use guide we gave you or Google: APA ??? (Purdue OWL site is usually the best reference)
- Every paragraph (except in Conclusion) should have one to several in-text references.
- Feel free to use second level headings (Bold, Cap first letter, Left justified) in the Lit review and A&A. It makes it easier for reader to track where they are. ALWAYS write for the reader.
- For the purposes of this course, a student completing a research paper will include an introduction, presentation of the research question, a review of the literature, argument and analysis, a conclusion, and references. An example of a research paper might look at increasing the number of female sales representatives or managers at an agency or company. The author would explain why the project is important (to the company, industry, or society), ask a specific question, review and summarize the literature on what other companies or industries do to be more successful increasing the number or percentage of women in specific positions, and then present an argument for a preferred solution to increase the number or percentage of women. It is important to note that the literature and research compiled for the GS 910 paper should be of the highest attainable quality and academic rigor. A research report from USAToday, a blog, or a Money magazine article are OK to reference, but only to demonstrate the popular view of an issue. The core background information in the paper should come from peer reviewed journals, credible interviews, or reliable industry publications. Each paper should include at least 20 sources, with at least 15 being peer-reviewed. If there are a limited number of peer reviewed sources, you will be expected to augment your literature review with at least ten interviews with credible expert sources. The final paper should be no less than 20 pages and no more than 25 pages in length. The Cover sheet, references, and appendices do not count in the 20-25 page count. The document should be presented in 12 pt. Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins. I make this request to normalize the document length. Formatting and references should be in APA format. The sections of the paper will be weighted as follows (the sections should be the headings of your paper): Research Paper Grade Weighting 5 Section Percentage of Final Paper Grade Introduction 15% Research question 10% Literature and reference summary 25% Argument and Analysis 25% Conclusion 10% Mechanics/style 5% References 10%
These are not perfect but should help guide you along on the development of the paper and what I am wanting to do with it:
Thesis Statement
“Competition”, big teaming with small in this case, will allow both companies to provide for the most financial and capability growth.
Introduction
Geo spatial exploitation Products (GXP) creates software for intelligence and targeting, we are rather small at 300 including all our coders but part of the greater BAE Systems. We have limited engineering resources that are primarily focused on maintaining the product roadmaps. The company is at a hard spot as it looks to continue to maintain its current and legacy product lines while being competitive and cutting edge. For example, we know the customer and other vendors have been implementing Machine Learning/AI across the product lines, moving to a Software as a Service (SaaS) model of sales and delivery method among other advances in the industry that we would like to be able to implement but have extremely limited capability to do so with our engineering assets and then there is the whole leadership challenge behind it all.
Research Question
How can a software company expand their products capabilities while already operating at max engineering capacity while maintaining their legacy software and product roadmaps.
- Here is some additional info of value:
Competition: In our last class we learned a great deal about Competition. It is the act of cooperation between competing companies; businesses that engage in both competition and cooperation are said to be in competition. The most common sector that acts in competition is the technology industry. Cooperation between competitors allows for hardware and software synergies. Many startups, especially in the technology industry, are competing in a similar market but have unique advantages. Two competitors may have complementary strengths, and a competition agreement can be formed to share in common gains. Competition between two tech companies can increase the chance of user growth within each company through cross-channel promotion. Often in the startup space and the tech industry, two or more competitors are fighting a larger competitor, and tech companies can integrate together to form competition against a larger foe. Competition in the tech industry is prevalent since its common for two competitors to become acquired or merge, forming a stronger entity. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/coopetition.asp
- Try to throw in addressing some of the leadership challenges that may be associated and how they would be tackled with basic change management techniques, I could focus on Kotter 8 steps of change model and maybe Covey to ensure everyone is effectively communicating during the difficult time. https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/kotters-8-step-change-model.. if possible, I know the page requirements may keep things very short and to the point but just more info for you to know how I would like to go with this.
- Here is some basic information on my company that I am referring to “GXP”:
- https://www.geospatialexploitationproducts.com/content/gxp-company-profile/