Business question

Introduction: This course revolves around the creation of a single, significant capstone project. In other words, a project that caps off your learning and your program, allowing you to demonstrate the competencies of leadership and collaboration, ethical and evidence-based decision making, and innovative and strategic thinking. For your capstone, you will choose a real company and analyze it in a way that demonstrates your understanding of the MBA program outcomes. You will turn your analysis of that company into a written report with recommendations and a formal presentation for your intended audience.

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Having a solid, doable scope is an important part of creating a successful capstone project, and the exact scope is up to you. To help you establish a realistic scope, you will start with the project summary. Be careful to consider the scalability of your project scope, ensuring that it demonstrates your ability to lead in a business environment and showcases your achievement of all MBA program outcomes.

EXAMPLES

A scope that is poorly defined:

I want to write a general analysis of the bookseller, Barnes & Noble.

This topic is too broad, and it would probably require hundreds of pages to address all of the possible analyses.

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  • A scope that is better defined:
  • I want to focus on how Barnes & Noble has managed to survive the Internet age while Borders has crumbled.

    What makes this a better scope? The scope is grounded in a problem (such as how to survive Internet competition) or opportunity (such as the area lacking a business that you plan to open), which allows you to focus the analysis.

  • It must also allow for you to analyze and suggest evidence-based recommendations, takeaways, or actionable next steps as the crux of your project.
  • Preaparation: Read the

    MBA Capstone Project Description

    Assessment Description: For this assessment, introduce the organization you have chosen to research, why you chose it, and how it will allow you to demonstrate all of the MBA program outcomes.

  • Write a 2–3 page paper, in an academic writing style, that details the topic and scope of your capstone project. Your project summary should be clear and concise yet thorough enough for faculty to provide feedback and guidance. Your project summary should be well organized and include the following sections:
  • Describe the background of your chosen organization.

    Provide a brief background of your selected organization. For instance, discuss its product lines, number of years in business, organization structure, location, et cetera.

  • If you choose an organization for which you work, your introduction must include a statement that you received permission to use the company from a supervisor.
  • Describe a business topic, problem, or opportunity that you intend to research.
  • Describe the problem or opportunity you see that makes this company a good choice.
  • Explain the scope of your project by clearly identifying the topics or areas you intend to research.

    Explain the level of accessibility to data necessary to examine the chosen business topic, problem, or opportunity.

    Address how you will go about obtaining the data.

    Identify any special requirements that you might need to meet to access the data you will need.

    Explain risks you think will be encountered and the mitigation plan to manage those risks.

  • Explain how your topic will allow you to showcase your leadership ability by demonstrating each MBA program outcome.
  • List out each program outcome clearly, and then explain in 3–4 sentences how your topic will allow you to demonstrate each. The MBA program outcomes are listed in the MBA Capstone Project Description.

  • Identify specific items of your project summary that you believe demonstrates the outcome.
  • Wrap up your paper with a clear, concise conclusion that summarizes your plan. Just a couple sentences is fine.
  • Your project summary should have these sections:
  • Introduction.

  • Statement of scope.
  • Demonstration of outcomes.
  • Conclusion.
  • MBA Capstone Project Description
    MBA Capstone Project Description
    Throughout your MBA program, you have worked to develop as a business professional and
    prepare to meet future challenges as a business leader. Your program culminates in the
    capstone project, which forms the primary focus of MBA-FPX5910, the final course you will take
    in the program. The capstone project is intended to provide you the opportunity to demonstrate
    your MBA program outcomes by:

    Planning and executing the strategic and tactical elements of a comprehensive project.

    Integrating and demonstrating the business leadership skills and techniques you have
    learned throughout the MBA program.

    Communicating your analysis and recommendations for a real organization both in
    written form and in a formal presentation.

    Completing your MBA program with an experience that reinforces and integrates what
    you have learned throughout your MBA program.
    The following information outlines the requirements and work associated with the capstone
    project for MBA-FPX5910.
    Capstone Project Examples
    You have a wide variety of choice when it comes to choosing a capstone project that is
    personally interesting and rewarding to you. It is your responsibility to propose a capstone topic
    and scope that will allow you to demonstrate all of the MBA program outcomes.
    Examples of project types that might be proposed to meet these requirements include, but are
    not limited to:

    A strategic plan developed for an organization to use that helps them solve a problem or
    take advantage of an opportunity.

    A strategic analysis conducted on a selected part or area of an organization.

    A case study developed on a selected part of or situation within an organization.

    An intervention developed to address an organizational issue; for example, a workshop
    or training activity. The intervention should be broad-based enough to demonstrate the
    program-level outcomes.

    A consulting report developed to analyze a problematic issue within an organization; the
    issue and analysis should be broad-based enough to demonstrate program-level
    outcomes.
    You may propose other project types for the capstone project so long as you are able to identify
    how the proposed project satisfies the requirement of demonstrating the program-level
    outcomes. When choosing your project type and/or topic, keep in mind that it must result in
    recommendations, next steps, or some other type of actionable, evidence-based takeaways for
    your intended audience, user, or subject of the project.
    1
    Capstone Project Selection and Proposal Guidelines
    The organization must be real, not fictitious. This may be an organization to which you have
    direct access for data gathering or one for which you will gather data via published sources. In
    either case, it must be an organization for which you can gather the data needed to complete
    the project. If need be, you may be allowed to use a disguised name for the organization in the
    project report, but you must disclose to faculty what actual organization is being used as the
    setting for the project.
    There are certain organizations that we want you to avoid using for your capstone. These
    organizations have been overly covered in the various business courses and might not be
    “fresh” enough for you to showcase your MBA outcomes. For that reason, we encourage you to
    select more low-profile organizations, or ones you can easily access for researching and
    analyzing. Do not select these organizations for your capstone project:

    Airlines: Southwest, American, Delta, United

    Retailers: Amazon, Target, Walmart

    Tech Companies: Apple, Google, Netflix

    Auto Companies: Ford, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagon

    Beverage Companies: Pepsi, Coke, Starbucks

    Burger King & McDonald’s

    Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

    Johnson & Johnson

    Proctor & Gamble

    Kellogg’s

    Uber

    Any other company that your instructor posts in Announcements
    When proposing a capstone project, you will be required to briefly identify how the proposed
    project ensures the demonstration of all seven program outcomes.
    The scope of effort required should be such that it is doable in a 15–20 page paper, which is to
    be submitted in Assessment 4.
    2
    Capstone Project Requirements
    The capstone course project must demonstrate your achievement of the MBA program
    outcomes. The following table is taken from the Capstone Project Scoring Guide, at the Proficient
    level. It outlines the expectations, at a minimum, for demonstrating each program outcome. (For
    the best grade possible, strive to meet the grading criteria at the Distinguished level.)
    MBA Program Outcome
    Grading Criteria (at the Proficient Level)
    1. Apply foundational knowledge
    and an understanding of
    business systems, processes,
    and technology within and
    across core disciplines.
    Applies foundational knowledge (theories, models,
    practices) and an understanding of business systems,
    processes, and technology within and across core
    disciplines.
    2. Integrate information across
    disciplines and from differing
    perspectives.
    Integrates most relevant supportive and conflicting
    information (data, insights, best practices) across
    disciplines from differing primary functional
    perspectives individually and holistically.
    3. Think critically and analytically
    to provide evidence-based
    solutions to business
    challenges and opportunities.
    Develops logical, well-supported, solutions based on
    relevant, sound, logical, and credible evidence (data,
    insights, analyses, best practices) to solve business
    challenges and opportunities.
    4. Apply innovative, strategic, and
    sustainable approaches to
    business practice and planning.
    Applies innovative, strategic, and sustainable (longterm) approaches to business practice and planning.
    5. Lead and collaborate in virtual,
    global, and culturally diverse
    environments.
    Applies leadership and collaboration principles and
    strategies for virtual, global, and culturally diverse
    environments.
    6. Integrate principles of ethics
    and integrity into business
    decisions.
    Integrates principles of ethics and integrity into
    business decisions by assessing ethical implications
    and resolving ethical conflicts and dilemmas.
    Capstone Deliverables
    You will plan, execute, and deliver your capstone project; it should include the components and
    requirements listed in this table.
    Assessment
    Brief Assessment Description
    Submission Requirements
    Assessment 1:
    Capstone
    Project
    Summary
    You will develop a brief summary of
    your capstone project so that faculty can
    approve your organization choice and
    scope and provide appropriate
    guidance. The project summary will also
    list out each program outcome and how
    the topic allows you to demonstrate
    mastery of each.



    Double spaced, academic
    style.
    Use at least one resource
    from the Capella library
    and one from the Wall
    Street Journal.
    Length is 2–3 pages.
    3
    Assessment 2:
    Capstone
    Proposal
    Assessment 3:
    Annotated
    Outline
    Once your topic and scope are
    approved, you will submit a formal
    proposal that includes a concise
    analysis of your business topic. You will
    also explain how you will leverage your
    leadership strengths assessment results
    and coaching experience (provided by
    BetterUp), as well as your knowledge
    and experience as a leader, to support
    your capstone work.
    To help you stay on track and receive
    faculty feedback, you will create an
    annotated outline of your paper. This
    document will list all of the major
    sections and sub-sections of your paper
    and include some resources.







    Assessment 4:
    Capstone
    Project
    The final written project report will be a
    formal document prepared for the key
    stakeholders of your project. The
    structure and length of the document will
    vary according to the type of project
    being undertaken, but the report is
    expected to be substantial.



    Single spaced,
    professional style.
    Use at least two resources
    from the Capella library.
    Reference your BetterUp
    leadership strengths
    assessment results and
    coaching experience.
    Length is 2–3 pages.
    Double spaced, academic
    style.
    Use at least four resources
    from the Capella library, in
    addition to Internet
    resources.
    Length is 2–5 pages.
    Single spaced,
    professional style.
    Use at least six resources
    from the Capella library, in
    addition to Internet
    resources.
    Length is 15–20 pages.
    In Appendix A, you can view the
    Capstone Project Scoring Guide. Be
    sure to review these criteria often
    throughout your project to ensure you
    are fulfilling the expectations of the MBA
    program outcomes.
    Assessment 5:
    Reflection and
    Goal Setting
    (Note: this
    assessment is
    not part of the
    Capstone
    paper)
    This paper will summarize how your
    strengths—as identified in the BetterUp
    leadership assessment and improved
    through your coaching—helped you to
    create an effective capstone project.
    Your paper will include a reflection of
    your growth, how you have applied your
    strengths, & how you would apply those
    strengths further to enact the
    recommendations you made in your
    Capstone paper.



    Single spaced,
    professional style.
    Reference your
    BetterUp strength
    assessment
    results and
    coaching
    Length is 2-4
    pages
    4
    Assessment 6:
    Capstone
    Presentation
    This formal oral presentation will be
    supported by a PowerPoint presentation
    including slides with notes. You will
    record the oral presentation and upload
    it to the courseroom for formal review by
    faculty. Your presentation should
    present all facets of the capstone
    project.



    Presentation slides with
    audio recording of you
    presenting to your
    audience.
    Length is 10–20 slides.
    Not to exceed 8 minutes of
    run time.
    Credible Resources
    The majority of your resources should be from credible sources such as peer-reviewed,
    scholarly journals and articles found in the Capella library. Other resources/databases, also
    available from the Capella library, are the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Lexis
    Nexis, IBIS, et cetera. By now you should have solid skills in navigating the Capella library, but
    just in case you need a refresher, remember that we have a custom library guide, Research
    Guide – MBA, which is an excellent place to start your research.
    5
    You may also use additional Internet resources (such as blogs, websites, white papers, et
    cetera), but evaluate and vet these sites/resources diligently to ensure you are using information
    that is credible and evidence based. Use this information to determine whether or not the
    resource is credible: Sources: What Can You Use for Your Research?; make sure you explore
    the source types listed on the left.
    6
    Appendix A – Capstone Project Scoring Guide
    Criteria
    Non-performance
    Basic
    Apply foundational
    knowledge and an
    understanding of
    business systems,
    processes, and
    technology within and
    across core disciplines.
    References but does not
    apply fundamental,
    practical foundational
    knowledge (theories,
    models, practices) and a
    functional understanding
    of business systems,
    processes, and
    technology.
    Applies fundamental,
    Applies foundational
    practical foundational
    knowledge (theories,
    knowledge (theories,
    models, practices) and
    models, practices) and a an understanding of
    functional understanding business systems,
    of a limited set of
    processes, and
    business systems,
    technology within and
    processes, and
    across core disciplines.
    technology within but not
    across core disciplines.
    Integrate most relevant
    supportive and
    conflicting information
    (data, insights, best
    practices) across
    disciplines from differing
    primary functional
    perspectives individually
    and holistically.
    Analyzes information
    Analyzes but does not
    from a singular discipline integrate limited
    or perspective or poorly information (data,
    analyzes information
    insights, best practices)
    across disciplines from across disciplines from
    few differing primary
    few differing primary
    functional perspectives. functional perspectives
    individually but not
    holistically.
    Develop logical, wellDevelops unsupported
    supported solutions
    (that is, emotional
    based on relevant,
    testimonials, anecdotes,
    sound, logical, and
    or lack of evidence)
    credible evidence (data, solutions and solutions
    insights, analyses, best that are not logically
    practices) to solve
    connected to business
    business challenges and challenges and
    opportunities.
    opportunities.
    Apply innovative,
    strategic, and
    sustainable (long-term)
    approaches to business
    practice and planning.
    Develops unsupported
    (that is, emotional
    testimonials, anecdotes,
    or lack of evidence)
    solutions or solutions
    that are not logically
    connected to business
    challenges and
    opportunities.
    Does not apply or poorly Applies some elements
    applies elements of
    of innovative, strategic,
    innovative, strategic, and and sustainable
    sustainable approaches approaches to business
    to business practice and practice and planning.
    planning.
    Apply leadership and
    Does not describe or
    collaboration principles poorly describes
    and strategies for virtual, leadership or
    global, and culturally
    collaboration strategies.
    diverse environments.
    Describes leadership
    and collaboration
    principles and strategies
    that may or may not be
    appropriate to virtual,
    Proficient
    Integrates most relevant
    supportive and
    conflicting information
    (data, insights, best
    practices) across
    disciplines from differing
    primary functional
    perspectives individually
    and holistically.
    Distinguished
    Applies a balance of
    theoretical and practical
    foundational knowledge
    (theories, models,
    practices) and an indepth understanding of a
    full range of business
    systems, processes, and
    technology within and
    across core disciplines.
    Justifies approach to
    integrating foundational
    knowledge, business
    systems, processes, and
    technology within and
    across core disciplines.
    Evaluates supportive
    and conflicting
    information (data,
    insights, best practices),
    integrating insights
    across disciplines from
    multiple diverse
    functional and strategic
    perspectives individually
    and holistically.
    Develops logical, wellDevelops logical, wellsupported solutions
    supported solutions
    based on relevant,
    based on relevant,
    sound, logical, and
    sound, logical, and
    credible evidence (that
    credible evidence (that
    is, data, insights,
    is, data, insights,
    analyses, or best
    analyses, or best
    practices) to solve
    practices) to
    business challenges and systematically solve
    opportunities.
    business challenges and
    opportunities relevant to
    all applicable
    stakeholders and crossfunctional departments.
    Applies innovative,
    strategic, and
    sustainable approaches
    to business practice and
    planning.
    Integrates and justifies
    innovative, strategic, and
    sustainable approaches
    to business practice and
    planning that
    appropriately challenge
    the status quo while
    recognizing change
    management
    implications.
    Applies leadership and Assesses leadership and
    collaboration principles collaboration principles,
    and strategies for virtual, strategies, and
    opportunities in virtual,
    global, and culturally
    global, and culturally
    diverse environments.
    7
    Integrate principles of
    Does not assess or
    ethics and integrity into poorly assesses
    business decisions by
    principles of ethics and
    assessing ethical
    integrity.
    implications and
    resolving ethical conflicts
    and dilemmas.
    Write coherently to
    support a central idea
    with correct grammar,
    usage, and mechanics
    as expected of a
    business professional.
    global, and culturally
    diverse environments.
    diverse environments
    and integrates flexible
    perspectives and
    collaborative approaches
    in business.
    Assesses principles of
    ethics and integrity by
    analyzing ethical
    implications but may
    overlook important
    ethical considerations.
    Integrates principles of
    Integrates principles of
    ethics and integrity into ethics and integrity into
    business decisions by
    business decisions by
    assessing ethical
    assessing ethical
    implications and
    implications, resolving
    resolving ethical conflicts ethical conflicts and
    and dilemmas.
    dilemmas, and making
    right and just decisions
    for the organization and
    the larger business
    community.
    Does not write
    Writes somewhat
    coherently nor use
    coherently to support
    grammar and mechanics ideas, but writing has
    as expected of a
    some grammar,
    business professional;
    mechanics, or other
    writing has major errors. errors that detract from
    credibility as a business
    professional.
    Writes coherently with
    minimal or minor errors
    to support a central idea
    with correct grammar,
    usage, and mechanics
    as expected of a
    business professional.
    Writes coherently to
    support a central idea
    with correct grammar,
    usage, and mechanics
    as expected of a
    business professional;
    writing is free from errors
    and formatted
    appropriately for the
    purpose or audience.
    8

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