Organizational Analysis
The purpose of this analysis (case study) is to create an opportunity to use the ideas and concepts discussed in the course in the analysis of a real organizational situation. The situation may be drawn from your experiences or if you are not working or do not have a frame of reference, you can research an organization. Your choice of organization is important and will take considerable judgment and discretion in deciding whether it is feasible to use it for the purposes of the papers. Discretion and confidentiality are of utmost importance in this analysis.
Learning objectives for research paper
- Identify an organizational situation for the purpose of analysis (the situation must be sufficiently complex to generate enough material to satisfy the requirements as outlined below)
- Consider how the concepts and theoretical frameworks help to analyze what is needed.
- Write up a case study that relates evidence to theory and provide an appropriate analysis and explanation of the situation described
Organizational analysis is the ability to examine an organization need for an information system. It is not simply spotting problems and applying appropriate solutions. It asks the questions: What is going on in the situation that I am analyzing? How can I account for its characteristics and the way they are changing? How can I make sense of the situation and arrive at an interpretation which allows me to say something concrete about it? In a nutshell, organizational analysis involves a process of thinking about a situation, constructing and reconstructing it in different ways that seems consistent with its organizational norms/culture. The goal is to provide insight for a basis for action. You can view this as getting to the root cause of the problem/issue. If done well, then the appropriate course of action for implementing and managing the change will become apparent.
Requirements for Research Paper
- Choose an organization to analyze.
- Provide a brief account of the nature of the situation being investigated. This account should have sufficient information for the reader to understand the nature of the organization and its context. This will include information on the age, size and history of the organization, the product or services it provides, and the general nature of the environment. Basically, this is the background information so that the reader can be oriented with the industry and the general trend that it is facing.
- Apply the relevant theories and concepts learned throughout the course. It is your job to try and apply these ideas to practice, identifying the detailed ways in which the different theories and concepts relate to your particular organization. What you are doing is linking the theory and practice and providing a basis for each stage of the analysis; looking at the organization from different points of view.
This is the diagnostic reading portion. What you are doing is using the information from the reading and judging the significance. Now you have determined the root cause of the problems. Some people call this contextual analysis. Then, you will continue with the analysis by:
- Provide alternatives and solutions for your situation; supported by relevant theory
- Evaluate the alternatives and solutions based on best practices in the industry through research
- Look at implications and draw conclusions based on the research.
- What recommendations would you present to the organization's leaders? Support your reasons with relevant research.
- Students must have a minimum of five (5) scholarly journal articles found in the online library included in the reference page. Note: I expect a minimum of 10 references.
- The paper should be 5-10 pages (this is the body of the paper) and include headings and subheadings.
- You must include a Reference page in APA format along with in text citations and headings throughout the paper.
Your paper should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. Please include citations to support your ideas.