Locating Credible Resources

Gather basic information about your target company. This information will help you complete the assessment questions.

• Official corporate name of the company you chose.
• Headquarters location.
• URL of the company Web site.
• Description of the company’s primary products or services (or both).
• Industry category (or categories) in which this company operates.

Then, complete the following:

1. Answer the five questions in the list below. Use both the Capella library and Internet search engines to complete this assessment. Do not rely on either one exclusively.
   1. What is one way that your chosen company is currently using the Internet or social media?
   2. What is one way that some other company in the same industry as your chosen business is already using the Internet or social media?
   3. How might the use of the Internet or social media present ethical problems for your chosen company?
   4. What technology exists that your company should know about as its management considers Internet use?
   5. What is one way that demographics, global presence, or diversity might impact your companies’ choices about Internet and social media use?
2. Create an Excel document to house the information for your assessment. Include a row for each of the five questions. Include a column for each of the following categories of information:
   1. Statement of the original question.
   2. Analysis of the information needed to answer that question and description of any challenges you had answering the question (2–4 sentences).
   3. Answer to the question with an APA formatted in-text citation.
   4. Source (or sources) for your answer in full APA citation.
   5. Your assessment of the credibility of the information you found (2–4 sentences).
   6. Your ranking of the credibility of the source on a scale of 1 to 5, with one being the lowest credibility and 5 being the highest.
   7. Your description of the search strategy that you used to find the answer to the question.
3. Use the Excel AVERAGE function to find the average credibility score of all of your sources.
4. Write one sentence to describe the general level of credibility of the material you found. If the average score for your sources was 1 to 3, explain the difficulties you had finding credible sources.
5. Describe how you will handle this problem in your final project.
6. Submit the assessment in your Excel document. You are being asked to submit this assessment in an Excel format to demonstrate your basic Excel skills, in preparation for future courses

Part 2: Annotated Outline

Next, create an annotated outline that provides a framework, or skeleton, for your strategy recommendation. By building an annotated outline, you will:

• Build a structure that shows the content and organization of your assessment and makes the process easier for you to move forward.
• Demonstrate that you have conducted research and know how to cite in APA format by including some quotations. Note that you may or may not use these sources and quotes in your actual recommendation; you may find better sources as you work on your strategy recommendation.
• Demonstrate your ability to create a well-organized document, suitable for academics or business, that meets established criteria.

To create your outline, complete the following steps:

1. Develop a complete list of the topics to be addressed in your strategy recommendation:
   1. Select a company that you will research and analyze to complete your strategy recommendation.
   2. Identify what technology exists that your company should know about as its management considers Internet and social media use.
   3. Assess a company’s current use of the Internet and social media.
   4. Analyze the implications of the Internet and social media for the future of a business, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
   5. Identify one way that demographics, global presence, or diversity might impact your companies’ choices about Internet and social media use.
   6. Evaluate ethical questions raised by a future vision for the impact of the Internet and social media on a business.
   7. Propose an evidence-based strategy for a company’s future use of the Internet and social media.
   8. Support a recommended business strategy with persuasive evidence.
   9. Write professionally and in a manner consistent with expectations for members of the business professions.
2. Your annotated outline must state the name of your chosen business and must include the following:
   1. An introduction.
   2. A conclusion.
   3. At least four other headings in between (the introduction and conclusion):
      1. Each of the four headings must have at least two subpoints to develop the detail required.
      2. Each of the four headings must incorporate at least one quotation or paraphrase from a source that you might use for support, with an APA in-text citation.
      3. One of your headings or subheadings (in your strategy recommendation) will specifically address the ethical aspects associated with your chosen business.
      4. One of your headings should be Recommendations.
   4. A section for References. In that section, list the full APA citation for all the sources you used in the annotated outline.

As you develop the sections for the strategy recommendation, consider what question you want to answer, what information you need to answer it, what you might find interesting as a reader, and what you want to learn as an MBA learner. Be sure to include everything mentioned above. In addition, you may also want to add a section on company background; a SWOT analysis could be useful in this regard.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Written communication: Ensure written communication is credible and free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: Format resources and citations according to APA (6th edition) style and formatting.
• Number of resources: Cite a minimum of five resources.
• Length: For Part II, submit 5–7 double-spaced pages, not including title page or reference page, plus the Excel spreadsheet for Part I.
• Font and font size: Use Times New Roman, 12-point font.