Homework answers / question archive / Assignment: Proposal (1 of 5 assignments in the Major Report Sequence) Textbook:  Chapter 13 Example: pages 451-453; Student Samples section in Major Report Sequence Handout (duplicate of information below): Proposal Notes and Grading Rubric - 12th Edition   Student Learning Objectives Students will: · Select a problem that needs to be solved or a question that needs to be answered through research

Assignment: Proposal (1 of 5 assignments in the Major Report Sequence) Textbook:  Chapter 13 Example: pages 451-453; Student Samples section in Major Report Sequence Handout (duplicate of information below): Proposal Notes and Grading Rubric - 12th Edition   Student Learning Objectives Students will: · Select a problem that needs to be solved or a question that needs to be answered through research

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Assignment: Proposal (1 of 5 assignments in the Major Report Sequence)

Textbook:  Chapter 13

Example: pages 451-453; Student Samples section in Major Report Sequence

Handout (duplicate of information below): Proposal Notes and Grading Rubric - 12th Edition  

Student Learning Objectives

Students will:

· Select a problem that needs to be solved or a question that needs to be answered through research.

· Select seven preliminary sources, including both primary and secondary sources.

· Prepare questions for an interview.  

· Identify the audience.

· Follow guidelines for proposal in a memo format.

Discussion

Proposals are planning documents that are intended to persuade.  Figure 13.2 shows types of proposals.  The proposal might be as short as a line item in a budget request with a short explanation to one that is hundreds of pages in length.  Solicited proposals follow specific instructions by the company or funder needing the services, equipment, software or the like..  They are often in response to a request for proposal, more commonly known as an RFP (see Figure 13.3 and Figure 13.4 on pages 434-435).  Unsolicited proposals may recommend a new product or service that might benefit a company; they often are written by salespeople.  Grants are common proposals for agencies, communities, and schools offered through the government or private foundations.  Students might want to persuade their family that they want to live on campus, go to school full-time, apply for an internship out-of-state, or study abroad. They may want a new computer, phone, apartment, or vehicle.

Assignment 

As you begin the assignment, pair together Proposal Notes and Grading Rubric with the example in the textbook on pages 451-453.  For your convenience, the attachment is a duplicate of the information below.  The handout discusses each part of the proposal and gives specific details and hints.  You may choose to complete the assignment individually or work with other classmates.  If you work as a group, you only need to turn in one proposal, making sure all names are included. 

First, choose a local business, personal, or family problem/issue that needs to be resolved and narrow down the topic.  Students have written papers about furniture purchases for an office; iPads for six-graders; family vacations; motorcycles; degree choices, career paths, jobs, or graduate school; a company's holiday party; eye surgery vs contact lenses; insurance; apartments; remodeling a credit union for safety deposit boxes; redecorating a home bathroom, bedroom, or patio; weekend businesses; renting vs buying textbooks and where; advantages and disadvantages of purchasing a used vehicle, electric cars, or insulin pumps; wedding cake flavors and design; venues for weddings; fear of speaking; and performance of baseball bats or golfing equipment.  Some primary research students used for these topics include price comparisons, budgets, test drives, taste tests, measurements, flower and plant inventory, survey of employees, and preferences for room colors or amenities.  Other topic ideas can be found in your textbook on pages 305 and 457.

Pick a topic and research you can accomplish within approximately three weeks for short-session classes or two months for semester-long classes. 

Then, write your proposal in a memo that describes how you plan to research the topic.  Use headings that appear in the example.  An interview is required.  Include only interview questions with your proposal; interview responses will be included in the progress letter that is due later in the term.  If you have chosen a questionnaire for your second primary research, attach it to the proposal. Include at least seven potential sources, which include the two primary sources.  The major report will  not  be accepted without an approved proposal.  Submit your proposal through Blackboard.

Proposal Notes and Grading Rubric - 12th Edition (sample on pages 451-453)

The proposal is a planning document intended to persuade.  In this instance, you are persuading your instructor, supervisor or family that your topic is worthy to be investigated. You will choose a topic that incorporates primary sources (pages 258-267) as well as secondary sources, outlines research strategies for a major (long) report, and assists in solving a problem.  The proposal is the first step in a series of assignments toward completing the major report (see syllabus). You may work individually or in a team of 2-4 students.

 

Use the details and suggestions below as you develop your proposal.  The sections parallel the contents of the sample. Your paper will be graded as follows:

 

Memo format (5 points) 

If you are writing to your supervisor at work or your family, copy (cc:) the instructor.

 

Purpose (5 points) 

Choose a topic that can be applied to an on-the-job or personal decision.  Some general ideas include purchasing new equipment, analyzing a local business problem, polling opinions of co-workers or others relevant to the topic, changing practices or procedures, reviewing career choices, choosing a health care provider, remodeling a room in your home, comparing a national study with a local group, planning a family vacation or cross country move. Start your paragraph with “I (we) propose” rather than an infinitive phrase.

 

Background of the Problem (10 points)

Include background information that incorporates ideas from secondary sources (pages 258; 268-278), as well as business and/or personal information.  Use parenthetical citations for quoted or paraphrased secondary sources.  Documentation is included in Chapter 8 and the sample. 

 

Questions to be Investigated (10 points)

Choose from 4 to 10 questions that will assist you in making a decision or finding a solution. 

 

Methods of Research (20 points)

You  do  not  need to include the first two paragraphs of the Methods of Research that appear in the sample.

Using the MLA documentation style (Chapter 8), in alphabetical order, list at least 7 sources that you will potentially explore.   At least two primary sources are required with one being an interview.  Use complete information, not just the URL. Identify primary sources in the explanatory paragraph.  In the Works Cited list in the final paper, citations for interviews and surveys will be included; see pages 287 and 289. The name of the interviewee and your name as an author will appear in the citations. 

[Ignore the underline for the descriptions of Timetable, Request for Approval, and Attachment.]

 

Timetable (5 points)

Include a bulleted list of related assignments that are listed in Blackboard under Major Report Sequence and in your syllabus on page 8, as well anticipated interview and research dates.

Request for Approval (5 points)

Request an approval from your instructor and/or supervisor via a courtesy paragraph. 

Attachment  

After the section, Request for Approval, double space and then type the word Attachment to indicate that additional information is included on the next page that is not part of the memo itself. 

 

Interview Questions (Survey Questions,  if applicable ) [on  a  separate  page]  (10 points)  

Develop a list of questions to ask a potential interviewee about your topic.  See pages 260-263 for details about interviews and focus groups. See pages 263-267 for survey examples; remember to include instructions about the deadline and how to return the survey.

 

Grammar, Spelling, Punctuation (30 points)]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page 405 on textbook

 

Exercises

In two or three paragraphs, identify and document a problem (in equity, services, safety, medicine, ecology, communication, traffic, scheduling) that you see in your office or your community. Make sure you give your reader—a civic official or an employer—specific evidence that a problem does exist and that it needs to be corrected.

 

Write a short internal proposal, modeled after Figure 13.5, based on the problem you identified in Exercise 1.

 

As a collaborative group project, prepare a short internal proposal, similar to that in Figure 13.5, recommending to a company or a college a specific change in procedure, technology, training, transportation, safety, personnel, or policy. Make sure your team provides an appropriate audience (college administrator, department manager, or section chief) with specific evidence about the existence of the problem and your solution of it. Possible topics include these:

 

providing more and safer parking or lighting

 

instituting job sharing for new parents or caregivers

 

converting existing clients over to using mobile wallets

 

purchasing new office or laboratory equipment or software

 

hiring more faculty, student workers, or office help

 

allowing employees to work remotely

 

changing the lighting or waste disposal in a student or company lounge or kitchen to make it more eco-friendly

 

installing signal enhancers to boost the range of the company’s wireless network

 

increasing the number of weekend, night, or online classes in your major

 

adding more health-conscious offerings to the school or company cafeteria menu

 

making an environment safe from COVID-19

 

Write a sales proposal as a collaborative group, similar to the one in Figure 13.6, on one of the following services or products or on a topic your instructor approves:

 

providing exterminating or trash removal service to a store or restaurant

 

equipping a hospital with rental tablet devices for patients’ rooms

 

designing websites

 

obtaining temporary office help or nursing care

 

offering landscaping and lawn care work

 

testing for noise, air, or water pollution in your community or neighborhood

 

furnishing transportation for students, employees, or members of a community group

 

offering technical consulting service to save a company money

 

digging a well or installing a septic system for a small apartment complex

 

supplying insurance coverage to a small firm (five to ten employees)

 

cleaning the parking lot and outside walkways at a shopping center

 

making a work area safer or more sustainable

 

preparing an IT seminar or training program for employees

 

increasing donations to a community or charitable fund

 

offering discounted memberships at a fitness center

 

Write a solicited proposal for one of the topics listed in Exercise 4 or for a topic that your instructor approves. Do this exercise as a collaborative project. Review Figure 13.6.

 

Write an appropriate proposal—internal, solicited sales, or unsolicited sales—based on the information contained in one of the following two articles. Assume that your or your prospective customer’s company or community faces a problem similar to one discussed in one of these articles. Use as much of the information in the article as you need, conduct additional research, and add any details from your own research that you think are necessary. This exercise can be done as an individual or a collaborative assignment

 

Multiuse Campuses: A Plan That Works

 

Gaylord Community School in Gaylord, Michigan, is a bustling center of activity from the first light of dawn to well after dusk. People of all ages come and go until late into the evening for a multitude of activities that include attending classes and meetings, catching up with friends, getting a flu shot, and seeing a play. That’s because in addition to a high school, the campus also includes senior and day-care centers, classrooms for adult education, an auditorium for the performing arts, a community health care site, and even a space that can be booked for weddings and other special occasions.

 

In Big Lake, Minnesota, elementary, middle, and high school buildings are all situated on one centrally located campus that makes up the entire Big Lake School District. Also included in this innovative layout are a state-of-the-art theater, a community resource center, and a multipurpose athletic arena, all of which are used extensively by the entire community.

 

Both the Gaylord and Big Lake schools are models of a growing movement toward multiuse community campuses that serve as “anchor[s] in the civic life of our nation,” according to U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. I recently had the pleasure of visiting Secretary Riley in his office. Also present were AARP President Joe Perkins and National Retired Teachers Association Director Annette Norsman, both of whom are involved in many facets of education and lifelong learning.

 

We discussed many things, including our concerns about the current increase in the number of students caused by the Baby Boom echo (children of the Boomers) and how that population is going to further stress the already crumbling infrastructure of American schools. We also talked about the need for resources—to employ more teachers, bring technology into the classroom, strengthen educational curriculum and opportunities for all ages—and the pressing need to build and renovate schools. That led to a discussion about the necessity and benefit of involving the whole community in the design and use of new school facilities.

 

I always thought that it was a shame that the majority of schools are used only a third of the day, three fourths of the year, by only a fifth of the population. Considering that there will be more school construction over the next decade than at any time since the 1950s, it just makes sense to consider the intergenerational and community benefits of multiuse spaces, benefits that include everything from establishing better learning environments to getting more bang for the tax buck.

 

There are many additional bonuses for multiuse educational complexes: They create an exciting community hub, bring life and culture to a central area, and revitalize and nourish the neighborhood in which they are located.

 

It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.

 

Self-Illuminating Exit Signs

 

The Marine Corps Development and Education Center (MCDEC), Quantico, Virginia, submitted a project recently, to replace incandescent illumination exit signs with self-illuminating exit signs for a cost of $97,238. The first-year savings were anticipated to be about $37,171 with an anticipated payback time of 2.6 years—making this an excellent way to save money.

 

The primary benefit of these self-illuminating exit signs is that virtually all operation and maintenance expense is eliminated for the life of the device, normally from 10 to 12 years. Power failures or other disturbances will not cause them to go out. In new construction, expensive electrical circuits can be totally eliminated. In retrofits, the release of a dedicated circuit for other use may be of considerable benefit. Initial total cost of installing circuits and conventional devices approximately equals the cost of the self-illuminating signs. Installation labor and expense for the self-illuminating signs is about that of hanging a picture.

 

The amount of electricity saved varies and depends on whether your existing fixtures are fluorescent (13 to 26 watts) or incandescent (50 to 100 watts). Multiply the number of fixtures × wattage/fixture × hours operated/day × days/year = kWh/year savings. For example, assume:

 

Now add in savings achieved from reducing labor to change bulbs; avoiding bulb material, stocking, and storage costs; avoiding transportation costs involved in bulb changes; and reusing existing bulbs.

 

The above savings can be significant. For the MCDEC Quantico project, estimates of bulb change interval and savings were 700 hours (29 days) and $13,512/ year when all factors were considered.

 

The cost of a self-illuminating sign depends on whether one or two faces are illuminated primarily and varies between different suppliers. Single-face prices will likely be $200 to $250 while double-face prices may be $450 to $500. The contractor at Quantico found better prices than these ranges indicate. The labor cost should be about $10 per sign.

 

If you can use an exit-sign system with high dependability, no maintenance, and zero operations cost in your retrofit or new construction projects, try a self-illuminating exit-sign system in your economic analysis today. “Isolite” signs, by Safety Light Corp., are listed as FSC (Fire Safety Code) Group 99, Part IV, Section A, Class 9905 signs and are available through GSA contract. Contact Gerald Harnett, Safety Light Corp., P.O. Box 266, Greenbelt, MD 20070 for more information.

 

Source: Deets, Horace B. “Multiuse Campuses: A Plan That Works.” Modern Maturity, July–August, 1999, p. 72. Reprinted with permission from Modern Maturity. Copyright 1999 by American Association of Retired Persons.

 

Write a research proposal on which the report on recruiting and retaining multinational workers in Figure 15.3 could have been based.

 

Write a research proposal, similar to the one in Figure 13.7, to your instructor seeking approval for a research-based long report. Do the necessary preliminary research to show that you have selected a suitable topic, narrowed it, and identified the sources of information you have to consult. List at least six relevant and recent articles, two recent books (since 2020), several websites, and two or three professional blogs pertinent to your topic.

 

Write a proposal in letter format (similar to Figure 5.7) for a business you manage to attract new international clients. As part of your letter, stress any new equipment or services you offer and provide any background/history about your business that might appeal to a particular group’s international customers.