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Online Assignment Part 1
Due: Wednesday, Sept. 16 by 6:30 p.m.
Research and choose a “best practice” company that you’d like to learn more about and whose values and ethics
seem to be in line with yours. Read chapter 2 before you do this assignment. The examples on page 43, 51, 52, as
well as the Alston & Bird example on page 49, will be especially useful, as you prepare and think about this.
Requirements:
• It must be a company on one of the following lists:
o Fortune’s Most Admired Companies, 2015
o Forbes Best Places to Work, 2015
o Washingtonian Magazine’s Best Places to Work, 2015
• Exceptions: It can’t be a company where you worked or now work. It cannot be one of the companies profiled
in the textbook (Alston & Bird, Edward Jones, Cisco or Google.)
The Assignment: Research and select a company from one of the three lists whose values seem to align with yours.
For example, it could be the company’s encouragement of innovation and creativity. Its support for professional
development and lifelong learning. Work-life balance. Corporate social responsibility. The list goes on and on.
Be sure to include and address ALL the following. It should be in narrative form (and in a Word document).
1.
Start by writing the company name at the top of your Word document, as well as the list you used (Fortune,
Forbes or Washingtonian).
2.
Write a brief assessment that includes why you selected this company and what it has done or does to reflect the
value or values you’ve chosen. Be specific about ways the company encourages and reflects the value(s) you
selected. Include at least two specific examples (from the research you’ve done, which could include media
coverage, the company’s website, etc.)
3.
Use at least one outside source and incorporate a direct quote from this source into your writeup:
• The source should NOT come from the Most Admired/Best Places to Work lists/ranking article you
selected. Find an alternative source.
• It should NOT be written as a footnote. Instead, it should be written as if you were writing this for a
business “case” or proposal.
• You need to include the source name (e.g. Bloomberg BusinessWeek) and either the article title or the
issuance/publication date.
• Here are a few examples of what I’m looking for: According to the August 15, 2015, Bloomberg Business
Week profile on Tim Cook, “quoted text.” OR “quoted text.” (August 15, 2015, Bloomberg
BusinessWeek, page X).
Requirements/Grading Criteria
1.
2.
3.
Length and format: Word document that’s less than 2 pages, double space, 10 point Times New Roman
• Be sure to adhere to these format guidelines.
• Include a link to the outside source (s) from which you used the direct quote.
Complete and on time: It follows all requirements outlined in the Assignment description, above. It must
be submitted before the deadline.
Quality: It is well-written and well-organized.
What you should post (on the Discussions section of Blackboard):
•
•
•
In your post, just list the company name. That way, in part 2 of the assignment, students can do a quick look at
the companies listed (without having to open the Word document) and decide which ones they want to read and
do posts about.
Include your Word document (narrative) as an attachment.
Include, in the Word document, a link to your source.
Deadline: Your assessment and the link should be posted no later than 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16.