Your final research paper will be based on the topic you chose in Week One. You may use some of the readings assigned in the class and expand on your topic.

To complete this task, you will need to write the first half of your final paper. To be successful, a minimum of five (5) pages of substantive content toward your final paper must be submitted in APA format – see information for APA 7th edition in the Resources

Turnitin Information: Your paper will automatically be submitted to Turnitin when you submit your paper through the “Assignment” section of the classroom. As a guide, the similarity score is the percentage of an assessment that directly quotes other sources and should be no more than 10%. Please note that this refers only to direct quotes within the body of the text and does not include the reference list or cover sheet. Anything more than 10% will be subject to evaluation and loss of points if plagiarism is detected.

Writing Rubric – located in the Resources folder

APA Style 7th Edition materials located in the Resources folder

1. Identify the target population you will focus on. For instance, if your interest is in access to mammography, this is your chance to become more specific, such as access to mammography among black women (a vulnerable group) in rural areas of Vermont.
2. Write a paragraph about why this specific population is of concern regarding this particular health problem.
3. Review the literature. Discuss the medical literature but also include information pertaining to applicable law and regulation, statistics (include attendant data sources) as it pertains to your topic, and synthesize the information to describe the extent of the problem.

There are many locations on-line that talk about literature reviews, but if you need some help, try:

For this week’s assignment:

• Complete sections VI – X of the Health IT Evaluation Toolkit. The toolkit should be used as a guide for the student to write a word document that includes the sections for this assignment.
  APA formatting (with the exception of an abstract) is required for this submission.
• Submit your documents below.

For complete information refer to your Health IT Evaluation Project.

If your organization is not considering implementing any new technology in the near future, you may elect to evaluate the process that was completed for a health IT system already in existence.

Refer to the Syllabus for point value of this assignment. Your Activity Completion checkbox will be marked when you submit to this dropbox. Check your gradebook for your grade.

Your final research paper will be based on a topic of your choice related to an aspect of cross-cultural management examined in this course (see list provided). First, you will choose a company that is involved in global cross-cultural management. This assignment requires that you explore a key aspect of cross-cultural management, and prepare a substantive outline detailing the program that you intend to design, develop, implement, and maintain for the benefit of the organization identified. Examples could be cultural training for expatriate employees; diversity training for employees; global leadership, etc. Conduct your academic research in the APUS Library, and you may also use the readings assigned in the class to supplement your research.

Prepare an outline with bullet points of the topics, subtopics, theories, and concepts that you plan to ultimately cover in your research paper. In addition, please refer to the reference below for more information on research paper outlines. This assignment is worth 10 percent of your grade.

Research Paper Topics:

1. Global executive leadership
2. Cross-cultural management
3. Global team development
4. Operating in a global environment
5. Leadership conflict resolution in a global context
6. International culture
7. Inter-cultural communication practices
8. International ethics and corporate strategies
9. Global HR strategies for a 21^stcentury workplace

You may contact your professor for consideration of a topic not on this list.

Reference:

Purdue Online Writing Lab (n.d.). Four main components for effective outlines. Retrieved from The Purdue Writing Lab

• Capstone Project Part VI: Final Report
  • [Due Saturday] Executive Summary — Provide an overview of the key content covered in the body of the report. Imagine a busy executive or potential investor who has just a few minutes to decide if they want read the rest of your report. Quickly give them the “meat” of your report, not fluff. (1-2 pages)
  • Business Model — Present Final “Canvas” Table with persuasive written explanation from customer or internal perspective (refer to visual presentation created previously). (2-3 pages)
  • Analysis and Insights — Describe analysis techniques employed and refer to appendices showing work performed (e.g., empathy map, MVP, etc.). Explain insights discovered about customers and business model (e.g., contrast original and final “Canvas” models). (2-3 pages)
  • Design and Implementation Recommendations — Describe the essential characteristics of the product, process or technology you are proposing to address customer/user needs you identified in your analysis. And, identify specific implementation recommendations that will help the design be successful internally and externally. (2-3 pages)
  • Impact — Describe the financial, ethical, and global implications of your proposed innovation. Quantify your financial projections in some way that shows why this is (or is not) worth doing (e.g., ROI). For ethical or global concerns you identify, suggest ways that they might be addressed. (2-3 pages)
  • Appendices — Document depth of research through display of artefacts, analyses, and sources in support of the body of the report.

Rubric for Capstone Project Part VI: Final Report

• Capstone Project Part V: Visual Canvas [Due Monday] Use visual design thinking techniques to help sell your updated canvas
  • Revise your business model canvas based on what you learned so far. This should be the final text version of your business model canvas that you will submit with your capstone project report next week.
  • Create a visual canvas to sell your business plan.
    • In Word, Prezi, or PowerPoint, use images or icons to walk a potential investor or internal stakeholder through your Canvas to illustrate your business model and innovative ideas.
    • Identify potential objections or resistance and identify solutions to break through them.
    • Apply visual design thinking techniques to tell and sell your story,  such as those listed on Osterwalder and Pigneur (2010: p. 178).
  • Rubric for Capstone Project Part V: Visual Canvas

• Capstone Project Part IV: Future Scenario Canvas[Due Monday] Use the future scenarios technique to create an updated Canvas based on an environmental variable that differs from your current environment.
  • Create a simplified version of the four-quadrant future scenarios chart (Osterwalder and Pigneur, 2010: p. 187):
    • Identify two criteria that are likely to shape the future of the industry in which your business model/ value proposition operates.
    • Label the two axes and the four quadrants
    • Identify the quadrant in which your business model is currently located (current scenario).
    • Identify a quadrant that may be relevant to the future of your company or project (future scenario). (Note: while you would normally do multiple future scenarios, you do not need to create a business model canvas for each of the quadrants.)
  • Create a business model canvas that is appropriate for the future scenario.
  • In 1-2 paragraphs, briefly describe any background needed to understand your future scenario analysis and what you learned for your capstone project.
• Rubric for Capstone Project Part IV: Future Scenario Canvas

• Capstone Project Part III: Minimum Viable Product [Due Monday] Create and Test an MVP
  • Create the simplest, quickest MVP to test one or more key assumptions of your business model/value proposition.
    • Use anything you have at your disposal to create your MVP.
    • Use software of your choice to show your product or process: web link, photo, video, PowerPoint, etc.
  • Write a 2 page summary or record a 3-5 minute video that includes the following:
    • Identify the assumption(s) you tested
    • Explain how you used the MVP to test your assumption(s)
    • Describe what you learned from this test
    • Identify your next steps to refine your MVP and run your next experiment
  • Submit your MVP product and summary.

Rubric

Rubric for Capstone Project Part III: Minimum Viable Product

• Capstone Project Part II: Preliminary Customer Needs Analysis[Due Monday] Use design thinking to conduct a preliminary analysis of your customers needs and summarize your findings in a 2-3 page (single-spaced) document plus an empathy map.
  • Complete the following steps to gather data about your target customers and summarize what they need.
    • Collect and document data on your customers.
      • Interview, observe or access other available data about your target customers to gather answers needed to complete an Empathy Map. Document the steps or actions you took to collect and analyze this customer-related data (e.g., interviewed X, Y and Z using this 3-question interview protocol).
      • Note: if you are doing a redesign project within an existing company, your “customer” for this exercise could be company employees or business partners if those are the customers or users you need to satisfy.
    • Create a visual empathy map Download visual empathy map(Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010: pp. 130-133).
    • Analyze and summarize the implications of your empathy map.
      • Reflect on the process of creating the empathy map. What did this analysis confirm for you? What did you find unexpected?
      • What do these customer insights mean for the desired value proposition of your proposed innovation? What do customers need? Is it different from what you thought they needed prior to applying this technique? How does this information affect your approach to your business plan? It may help to review possible value propositions (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010: pp. 22-25).
    • Summarize your current understanding of the innovation you are proposing.
      • Describe in more detail than your proposal the idea you have for the product/process/technology that will address your customer’s needs.
      • Describe the assumptions that you have about your innovation that still need to be tested. (e.g., What design elements are necessary for your product to meet your customers’ needs? How will you measure if the product is successful or not? What do you expect to discover and accomplish by using the prototyping technique next week? What problems might you face in implementing the technique?).
    • Submit the following items:
      • 2-3 page paper addressing the topics above (i.e., data collection, analysis of empathy map and value proposition, summary of innovation)
      • Export your completed Visual Empathy Map as a PDF and then submit it to this Canvas assignment.

• Automotive Canvas (Group)[Due Saturday] In groups of 3-4, create a business model canvas for an existing automotive-related company
  • Use the business model canvas template to complete the following with your group
    • Make a copy of the business model canvas template(Links to an external site.) and share it with your group via Google Drive.
    • Select one disruptive trend in the automotive industry (see Gao, Kaas, Mohr & Wee, 2016) and identify a specific automotive-related company that has been affected by that trend
    • (Re)structure the company’s business model by creating a canvas motivated by the disruptive trend, filling in all 9 blocks of the canvas template.
    • Add a 1-2 paragraph explanation of how this business model would allow the company to respond to the trend. Clearly identify which trend you selected and the name of the company you are analyzing.
  • Have one group member submit the link to your group’s automotive canvas and the explanation. [Note: Deductions will be made for individuals who do not contribute meaningfully to the team’s work.]