Learning Goal: I’m working on a business writing question and need the explanation and answer to help me learn.
This assignment and grading rubric are based on the SPOT framework (Situation, Problem, Opportunity, Tactic).
In this reflection paper (and in your reflections for each core MBA course), you will identify a situation, problem, or opportunity related to your work with the Audio Partners case. Once identified, you will then recommend a tactic to address the situation, problem or opportunity. At this stage in the program, you may not yet have an appropriate tactic to fix or address the issue, but dont let that stop you from pointing it out. As you progress through the program you may eventually find the right tactic to address it.
You will get 2x as many points for pointing out a situation, problem, or opportunity as you will for supplying a tactic to address it. Therefore, it might be worth your time to look for all the issues you can find first, then spend time on tactics afterward. Here are definitions that can help you with the differences between situations, problems, and opportunities:
- Situation: a state of affairs that cannot be defined immediately as either good or bad but requires attention
- Problem: a matter or situation regarded as requiring immediate attention as it is unwelcome and will cause harm if not dealt with.
- Opportunity: a set of circumstances that make it possible to do something
- For this reflection paper, a Tactic is defined as an action or strategy planned to achieve the desired end.
The story implies a number of situations, problems, and opportunities that echo issues encountered during each of the six core courses in the CSUG curriculum. It also hints at issues related to the seven Integrated Themes threaded through the MBA curriculum.
As you read the story, it will become clear that the founders need competent business advice to transform their concept from an idea into a viable business planone with a high likelihood of operational viability, attractiveness to investors, and sustainable competitive success. You are to be that advisor.
Your ability to integrate recommendations across disciplines spotting connections and dependencieswill increase as you move through the MBA core classes, and especially as you refine your fluency with strategic thinking, critical thinking, and systems. However, integrating your recommendations across disciplines is not required for this assignment. Rather, focus on the role examined in your course.
Depending on the content of your course, then, once you SPOT an issue you may need to either:
- Define the issue as it relates to the course you are in. In this case marketing. Is it a situation, a problem or an opportunity?
- If you have a tactic or strategy for what you spotted, you can then develop a recommended action. If you do not, move on to the next SPOT.
Need help SPOTting issues? Click on the tab to reveal a list of questions to spark ideas:
Words of Wisdom:
AmbiguityAs in the real world, the issues are usually implied, and not explicitly identified for you. This project rewards not merely mastery of core business disciplines alone, but the more subtle skills of critical reasoning, creative innovation, strategic thinking, systems thinking, sound decision-making in uncertainty and at the ethical intersection of people and profit, organizational literacy and leadership, and an ability to shape recommendations that are scalable and sustainable across cultures into the future. Ability to spot the issues yourself is one of those more subtle but indispensable skills.
Take RisksThis is not a closed-book project; its learning value is vested much less in a grade than in peer-group discussion and your reflection during and after your completion of the work.
Furthermore, you are not betting your career or salary on it.
So, demonstrate your mastery of generally accepted practices examined in your class, but do not let the conventional paradigm get in the way of creative experimentation with innovations of your own that meet the need. Show off what you know, but enjoy the assignment. It affords you a no-risk dry run for real world.
Submission Guidelines
Your reflection paper should be 3-4 pages in length. Any citations should conform to APA guidelines
please run a plagerism check along with APA formatting. thanks.
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