| Issue Paper |
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| You are required to prepare an
issue paper on a topic of
your choosing. Since you will obviously spend a lot of time on this
assignment I encourage you to choose an issue of interest to you
or an organization you are familiar with.
Since this is an issue paper, it should be narrowly focused around a
specific issue and conclude with a section where you provide advice to
managers of public and nonprofit organizations. This advice should
be firmly supported by previous research and be grounded in the
literature. |
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| You will be required to submit a short
paper/project proposal early in the semester when indicated on the
course schedule. Your paper
proposal must include a 1 - 2 page abstract that clearly indicates the
human resource management issue you will examine. It
should also include a proposed outline of the paper.
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| The final paper should be 15 to 20
double-spaced pages in length and include a title page, executive
summary, page numbers, running header and footer, and any relevant
appendices. It must include at least 10 references (in addition to
course readings) to government reports, books, or journal articles that
will constitute the core bibliography of your issue paper.
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| In certain cases a project may be accepted in place
of a paper if it adds to your professional development.
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Expectations
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| I have high expectations for your paper. You are all
capable of writing papers that are consistent in scope, substance, and
quality with that found in the papers presented at conferences for
academics and practitioners in this field such as the American
Society of Public Administration (ASPA). There is no
maximum length requirement but
the minimum length is 15 double-spaced pages in the main document with 1
inch margins and 12 point times new roman font. They
should be well written, be professional in appearance, and be properly
referenced in any acceptable style. |
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| I encourage all of you to consider trying to present the
papers you develop for this assignment at a professional conference in the
future. These conferences provide excellent networking
opportunities for those seeking a job in this area. Presentations at
these conferences also look good on your resume and will help you to
develop your public speaking skills. The
UNCW Graduate School also provides up to $400 for student travel
expenses when they are presenting a paper at a conference. You may also want to
consider submitting a revised version of your paper to an appropriate
journal in the field. In fact, Coastal
Management regularly solicits student contributions for its final
issue of the year. |
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Presentations
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| Given the size of the
class, you will not formally present your paper. Instead, we will have
several round table discussions the last week of class where you will have
an opportunity to discuss your findings and recommendations with the class.
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Grading
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| Your final paper will be evaluated based on your analysis, the
organization of your ideas, the strength and substance of your arguments,
your ability to properly apply the concepts discussed in class, and the
quality of your writing (e.g., spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.). The
following evaluation form will give you some idea about what is
expected for the issue paper. |
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