MBA PROGRAM GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS WRITING CO-OP WORK TERM REPORTS

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1 MBA PROGRAM GUIDELINES FOR STUDENTS WRITING CO-OP WORK TERM REPORTS Purpose of the Report The co-op work term report is an important part of the co-op program. The report is the primary way for you to demonstrate your ability to integrate practical and academic concepts. This integration is the hallmark of the co-op education approach that you have chosen. The report will be graded by both your work term supervisor and a faculty member and must be acceptable to both for you to receive a passing grade. The forms used by employers and faculty members to evaluate your report are attached at the end of these guidelines. Content of the Report There are essentially two approaches to this report: 1. Issue Identification, Analysis and Recommendations Identify an issue within your employer s organization that pertains to accounting, finance, management and labour studies, marketing and/or management science. Describe possible approaches to dealing with the issue. Analyze the different approaches. Select the approach that you feel is most beneficial for the employer and make recommendations for its implementation. Take the point of view of a consultant to the employer. Your report should provide valuable recommendations and analysis to the employer. Examples of past reports that follow these principles are: 1. How to generate more small business customers for a bank 2. Choosing a performance appraisal system for a brokerage firm 3. How to implement a new depreciation system in a non-profit entity The analysis of the issue must involve research, i.e., gathering and analyzing data and/or consulting at least 6-8 published sources (such as journal articles, textbooks, government or industry reports, websites, etc.). In most cases you will also use unpublished sources, such as memoranda, interviews, the corporate intranet, and so on. 2. Description and evaluation. In rare instances there may be no issues requiring analysis and recommendations, or the employer may discourage such an approach. Or the employer may assign a task that includes

2 Co-op work term report Guidelines p. 2 writing a purely descriptive report, such as a user s manual for a software program, or one documenting the employer s end-of-year accounting procedures. That report, or perhaps the actual day-to-day operations around the student s job, may merit analysis (you may, for instance, be intrigued by the organizational structure of the sales department in which you have been working and wonder why it works so well. Of course, if you feel it works badly you have probably identified an issue for analysis and recommendation.) In such cases your report may bring to bear all you have learned in your study terms upon the situation at hand. For example, if you had produced a user s manual for a particular piece of software, your paper would be analytical, perhaps researching and analyzing competing software packages and drawing conclusions about circumstances that favour the use of this particular software compared to other options, or alerting the reader regarding particular challenges presented by this software, as for instance training requirements. Note that to do such an analysis, primary (data-gathering) and secondary (publication-consulting) types of research must be conducted, as discussed above. You should feel free to include the descriptive report as an appendix to the work-term report. Timing 1. Start working on your report early in your work term. Consult your employer to determine a suitable topic. 2. During the fourth week of your placement, prepare a proposal: a one-page summary of what you plan to write about and how you plan to research it. Submit this proposal in an message to worktermprops@uwindsor.ca; it will be returned to you after approximately one week with comments that may range from approved to find another topic. 3. Important: the subject line of your message must include: Workterm proposal ; your last name; the main discipline of your project; and a brief version of the working title. For example: Workterm proposal Drucker Marketing Tracking repeat sales at Canadian Tire 4. The report will be discussed during the on-site visit at the mid-point of your work term. 5. The report is due by 4:30 p.m. of the Monday following the first week of classes in the new term. Submit two copies to the Co-op Coordinator. Keep a copy for yourself. 6. Please note that the report should be written on your own time, not during the workday at your place of employment. Marking Reports will be marked on a pass/fail basis; for a report to be considered a pass it should be at least at the B- level. If the report fails to reach the standard, the student will be required to re-write the report so that it reaches the required standard before a pass can be assigned for the work term. Structure for the Proposal 1. This should be a very brief document and, ideally, fit on one page. 2. Include identifying information: Student name; Organization; Job or position title.

3 Co-op work term report Guidelines p Brief descriptive title of project and principal discipline or focus (e.g. Finance, Human Resources Management, Marketing, etc.) 4. One or two paragraphs describing the issue to be addressed, its importance (why would anyone care about this?) and how you plan to go about addressing it (e.g. data gathering process, etc.) Structure of the Report 1. Cover staple your report and put it in a side-lock report cover 2. Title page follow format in Exhibit 1. Download the Business School logo from the MBA Information Web page ( under Work Term Report. The title page, with the logo, must show through the clear front cover. 3. Letter of Submission follow format in Exhibit Executive Summary follow format in Exhibit Main body follow guidelines in Exhibit References follow guidelines in Exhibit Appendices (if any) Format issues 1. It is expected that the main body of the final report will be pages. The report must be typed, double-spaced, with 1 inch margins on the top, bottom and right hand side and a 1½ inch margin on the left (due to the cover). Follow the American Psychological Association (APA) format, which is described in detail in Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, fifth edition (available at Leddy Library) and is followed in the attached exhibits. 2. Reference all material that contributed to the report using APA style. Note that failing to reference words and ideas that are not your own constitutes plagiarism, which is, as detailed in the University Calendar, a serious offence. 3. Number tables and figures (e.g., graphs, diagrams, etc.) and give each one a succinct, descriptive title. Label axes on graphs. 4. Pay careful attention to spelling, grammar, punctuation and style. Consult reference works when you are unsure about any of these items. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association has useful information on many of these issues and also makes reference to a number of important support titles. You will probably find the chapter on student papers very helpful. 5. Do not hand in your first draft. Edit and revise your report until it is as good as you can make it. Have someone else read your report to ensure ideas are communicated clearly. 6. Your work term report will be seen by a number of people, including faculty members and managers at your workplace. Make sure it is something you are proud of.

4 Co-op work term report Guidelines p. 4 Exhibit 1 Format for Title Page Choosing a Performance Appraisal System for XYZ Investment Co. Ltd. (Note: your title should concisely describe the topic in, at most, words) XYZ Investment Co. Ltd. Windsor, Ontario Submitted to: Supervisor s Name Name of Co-op Coordinator Submitted by: Student s Name Main Subject Area: (HR, Finance, Marketing, etc.) Submitted on: Date Work term Number:

5 Co-op work term report Guidelines p. 5 Exhibit 2 Format for Letter of Submission Date Co-Op Coordinator Co-op Education and Career Services University of Windsor Windsor, ON N9B 3P4 Dear Co-op Coordinator: Please accept this report entitled Implementing a risk-adjusted performance appraisal system at XYZ Investments Ltd. as my submission to fulfil my work term requirements. During my second work term I was employed by XYZ Investments in the Administration department. I was involved in processing trades for this rapidly growing investment firm. The work term provided me with valuable experience and a greater knowledge of the investments field. My report explores various performance appraisal systems for investments traders, and recommends one approach which I hope will help XYZ continue to meet its growth targets. I would like to thank my manager, Vice-President Terry Jones, for guidance throughout my work term, and Professor Smith, as well as VP Jones, for assistance with this report. Sincerely, Sandy Student

6 Co-op work term report Guidelines p. 6 Exhibit 3 Format for Executive Summary Executive Summary This report examines various performance appraisal systems used in investment firms, and makes recommendations for a system to be used by XYZ Investments Co. Ltd. An analysis of existing research on investment performance appraisal shows that a key requirement of an appraisal system for an investment firm is that it adjust for portfolio risk. For this reason, the Treynor index of performance appraisal is recommended for XYZ Investments Co. Ltd. Details of the measure and suggestions for implementation are included in the report. (Note: The Executive Summary should not exceed one page and should include: the purpose and scope of the report major findings of the analysis highlights from the recommendations The Executive Summary is not an outline of the report. Study your finished report carefully. Pick out the most important items related to the three points enumerated above, and use these in your summary.) i

7 Co-op work term report Guidelines p. 7 Exhibit 4 Format for Main Body Introduction The report should be typed, doubled-spaced in Times Roman 12-point font. Leave 1-inch margins on the top, bottom and right hand sides, and a 1½-inch margin on the left. Use page numbers. Break your report into sections (e.g., Issue, Alternative Approaches, Recommendations). You may wish to use subsections to discuss the various alternative approaches. Whatever style you adopt for main and sub-section headings (e.g., bold, centred, etc.), be consistent throughout the report. Your report must have a professional appearance. Use the author-date method of referencing material in the main body of your paper, e.g.: Or: It has been found (Smith, 1997) Smith (1997) found Give page numbers when quoting directly. See Exhibit 5 for the format of the reference list, which appears at the end of the report. Figures and tables should be placed in the main body of the paper, following, as closely as possible, the first reference to them. Figure 1 Risk and Return Return (%) Risk 1

8 Co-op work term report Guidelines p. 8 Exhibit 5 Format for References References Baker, J., Dodge, D. & Edgeworth, L. (1992). Evaluating investment returns. Investments Journal, 63, Employee Benefit Research Institute. (1992, February). Sources of Health Insurance (Issue Brief No. 123). Washington, DC: Author. Greenspan, A. (1997). An Introduction to Economics. Toronto: Gage. New drugs appear to cut risk (1993, July 15). The Washington Post, p. A12. University of Windsor. Homepage. Retrieved August 7, 2001, from Note: you should use at least 6-8 sources. Since readers cannot refer to personal communications you had with others, do not list them on this page. In the main body of your report, cite personal communications as follows: It has been found (I. Smith, personal communication, April 18, 2002).