For this assignment you will need to imagine that you are working for a company (real or fictional) and your boss has presented you with a problem which you are assigned to solve. It is your responsibility to develop three potential solutions to the problem, do research on each one, present your findings, and make a recommendation to your boss in the form of a written business proposal (sometimes called a justification report). There are several parts to this research project which include:

• Topic for Research (click on link to see instructions for this assignment)
• Rough Draft
• Final Draft (click to see a template for the Justification Report)

For a full explanation of the business proposal please download the following document here: Guidelines for Research Project 1: Business Proposal. You may also read them below.

Due Dates:

The rough draft of Research Project 1 is due June 4, 2018 in class

The revised draft of Research Project 1 is due June 11, 2018 on Canvas

Intro:

For this assignment you will need to imagine that you are working for a company and your boss has presented you with a problem which you are assigned to solve. It is your responsibility to develop three potential solutions to the problem, do research on each one, present your findings, and make a recommendation to your boss in the form of a written business proposal (sometimes called a justification report).

Problem:

Your company wants to be more environmentally-conscious by finding ways of “going green,” but costs are limited. Your boss has asked you to investigate possible cost-effective ways in which the company could “go green.” The problem is she wants the most impactful (which will help make the greatest reduction of the company's impact on the environment) option at the lowest cost. She has asked you to research three different options and make your recommendation of which you think would be best for the company. Prepare a report in which you compare the three choices and indicate which one would be the best.

• Before you begin your research start by planning your project. You need to choose the following:
  • Name of business (company)
  • Type of business (what the company does)
  • Budget (how much can the company afford to spend on “going green”)
  • Three possible choices to research.
  • Choices should fall within in a reasonable budget range. (You may need to do some preliminary research before deciding on the specific choices)
• On your comparison chart, list the 3 choices and your chosen criteria of evaluation (ei: cost, advantages and disadvantages, etc.) that will be compared.

Written Report

After you have chosen your three options you should create a research plan and begin your research. Be sure to keep track of your research by taking notes and documenting your sources. Then you will write a report comparing the three options and making your recommendation for the best choice. The report should present your research in detail, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option and clearly justify your recommendation. For the report you will need to:

• Find and read at least 2 reliable sources containing information about EACH choice (for a total of 9 sources).
  • Three of your sources (one for each option) must be journal articles found through an online database such as ProQuest or Academic Search Premier
  • The other sources should be from reliable Internet websites, books, newspaper articles, magazines, etc.
    • avoid BLOGS and no WIKIPEDIA
  • As you conduct online research, keep track of the sources!
  • Keep track of the pros and cons of each option by using a comparison chart
  • Use the comparison chart as a guide and write a descriptive analysiswhich explains the advantages and disadvantages of each choice (about 5 pages)
  • Type a References list for your 6 sources using the APA Style for documenting research

The report should include the following parts:

• Title page
• Abstract (aka: Executive Summary)
• Table of Contents
• Body of report (main text should be approximately 5 pages)
  • The body should include these sections:
    • Problem
    • Solution
    • Research/ Methods
    • Recommendation
  • References with correctly formatted entries for your 6 sources (using APA style)
  • Appendix including this comparison chart and any other visuals
• FOR A SAMPLE STUDENT PAPER DOWNLOAD THIS DOCUMENT: SAMPLE: JOE'S PIZZA