Assignment: Practical Business Problem Solving Topic

Business research can help managers plan strategies by – identifying the existence of problems or opportunities present in the organization.

—William G. Zikmund, Barry J. Babin, John C. Carr,

and Mitch Griffith,
Business Research Methods

Despite having general areas of academic interest, many doctoral independent scholars find choosing a specific topic for their research study a challenge. In addition to making an academic contribution, your work will address a real-world business problem and have the potential to impact the daily practices of the business community. Writing and researching a Doctoral Study is an opportunity for you to explore a topic of interest, identify a problem, and express your viewpoint and perspective as your ideas evolve by way of you learning more about the topic and about your own questions and hypotheses.

Your past professional experience can be a valuable source for identifying a research topic during the initial stages of your search. You should also review the literature on topics of interest. Finding a practical business problem, for which your in-depth academic research efforts may help you uncover possible solutions, is a critical first step in a successful doctoral process.

To prepare for this Assignment, review the media piece “Choosing Your Doctoral Topic.” Consider a topic you might be interested in studying and a potential question for future research. Note: This is not the time to talk about the specifics of your Doctoral Study but rather to describe generally your topic of interest and why you have chosen it. This will acquaint the reader (or listener) with your study topic. Also keep in mind that many early doctoral independent scholars tend to focus on solutions. Instead, focus on clearly articulating a known business-related problem and not a social problem.

By Day 7

Submit a 2- to 3-page paper (excluding cover and References pages) in which you formulate one or more business problems on your chosen topic. In your paper, do the following:

• Provide an overview of the topic you are interested in studying, including the context and your rationale for selecting your topic.
• Delineate a brief history of this area of study and the relevancy of this topic in today’s business world.
• Identify any similarities between your interests and those discussed in the media piece “Choosing Your Doctoral Topic.”
• Devise one or more business-related problems related to your chosen topic.
• Speculate what type of data you might need to research one of these business-related problems and how you might go about collecting that data.

Be sure to use the APA Course Paper Template (6th Ed.) to complete this Assignment. Also, refer to the Week 7 Assignment Rubric for specific grading elements and criteria. Your Instructor will use this rubric to assess your work.
Please Note: For each page of your paper, you must include a minimum of two APA-formatted scholarly citations.