PSC 495 - Describe the problem you are focusing on for your action research project

Topic 1 DQ1

Describe the problem you are focusing on for your action research project. Discuss your motivation for addressing this problem in terms of why it is significant to the organization and how achieving the proposed change would produce positive results for the business, its employees, and customers.

Topic 1 DQ2

Share the problem you will focus on for your action research project. Identify two or three ethical issues that could be connected to resolving the problem and explain how you would address each issue as your work to solve it. When replying to peers, identify additional ethical issues and provide new suggestions and resources that could be used to address the identified ethical issues associated with the problem.

Topic 2 DQ1

Discuss the value and use of quantitative and qualitative research and data in business. Articulate the difference between the two types of research and provide specific examples of when each would be valuable in addressing problems within a business setting

Topic 2 DQ 2

Create a table that summarizes the research you conducted in order to complete the Topic 2 assignment. In the table, briefly describe each type of research completed and indicate whether it was qualitative or quantitative research. In your post, discuss specific challenges you encountered in conducting your research. When posting to peers, provide suggestions for addressing the challenges they describe, including relevant links to useful resources or articles.

Topic 3 DQ 1

Discuss the pros and cons of completing a stakeholder analysis. In your discussion, explain why stakeholder analysis is an important step in the action research process and what could happen if this step is eliminated or completed insufficiently.

Topic 3 DQ 2

Based upon your stakeholder analysis, identify what you think will be the greatest potential roadblock you will encounter from stakeholders? Summarize the issue and discuss ideas you have for addressing it in a proactive manner. In your posts to peers, provide additional ideas about addressing stakeholder roadblocks, including personal experience and links to relevant resources.

Topic 4 DQ1

Discuss the use of the problem solutions matrix in helping you select the solution you believe will best address the organizational problem you have identified. Did you select the solution based primarily upon the solutions score, or did other factors influence which solution was selected? Explain all factors considered in your selection and the role that your research and stakeholder analysis played in the problem solution selection.

Topic 4 DQ2

On the "Problem Solutions Matrix," the category "Customer Importance" received twice the weight of all other categories. Using what you learned from the Topic Materials, discuss the relative importance of this criterion. For the problem you are addressing, do you think this weighting was appropriate? Are there additional criteria that should have had greater weight? Would you have added other criteria specific to your problem? If so, what are they and why are they important in selecting a potential solution?

Topic 5 DQ1

Ensuring that data is summarized in a way that is useful to readers is an important part of effectively communicating your research findings. In the Main Forum, post the graphs and charts you created in the Topic 2 assignment so your peers can provide you with feedback about the clarity of the content being conveyed. In posts to two of your peers, provide specific feedback about how the research findings are visually presented. Refer back to the Chapter 10 textbook content to provide specific feedback and suggestions for improving the visual data representations.

Topic 5 DQ2

In the Main Forum, post a rough draft of the "Implementation Methods" section of the business proposal. In posts to two of your peers, provide feedback about the strategies that were outlined to implement the problem solution. Anticipate specific questions various stakeholders might have about the implementation of the solution and provide your peers with suggestions for addressing these questions and concerns in writing in the "Implementation Methods" section of the business proposal.

Topic 6 DQ 1

Using what you have learned in the Topic Materials, discuss what you believe to be the most important aspect of change management as it relates to the implementation of your problem solution. Provide specific examples to justify your opinion and illustrate your ideas.

Topic 6 DQ2

Why is it important to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed solutions using both qualitative and quantitative data? Justify your opinion with specific reasons and examples.

Topic 7 DQ1

In the textbook reading, you learn about the importance of audience analysis when making a presentation. Think about the presentation you have created will for the topic assignment. For your initial topic assignment, you designed a presentation focused to convincing key stakeholders to sponsor and support your idea so it can be implemented within your organization. Discuss how the pitch will need to be modified for other audiences once you have gained support from stakeholder sponsors. In what ways will your change the presentation when giving it to those who will be directly affected by the changes you are proposing? How will the way you approach the audience change? Provide specific examples to illustrate your ideas.

Topic 7 DQ2

In the Main Forum, post a link to the YouTube video recording of your Problem Solution Presentation. Provide at least two of your peers with feedback about how effectively they were able to present the problem, proposed solution, and plan for implementing the solution. Discuss your peers' success is utilizing research and presentation skills to clearly articulate the information to these key stakeholders while also identifying their specific call to action.

Topic 8 DQ1

The Topic Material "How to Get Your Idea Approved" suggests five key techniques for successfully pitching your idea to key stakeholders, including forming alliances, preparation, positioning your message for the audience, keeping information simple, and answering questions with confidence. Which of these five techniques will be most difficult for you as you work toward problem solution implementation within your organization? Discuss why a particular technique may be difficult, and provide your peers with specific ideas for overcoming obstacles to solution approval and implementation.

Topic 8 DQ2

Based upon your experience with completing the action research project, what suggestions would you give to others about implementing an action research process in order to address an organizational problem? Provide specific suggestions along with links to relevant resources.