Paper and Presentation on a UNIQUE diversity topic1
Teams may choose to write a thorough, high quality paper on a unique diversity topic, and
make a presentation on their findings to the class. Possible topics include:
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such as sexual orientation in the workplace (e.g., coming out, equal partner benefits,
affinity groups, costs of being closeted, etc),
diversity in sports [e.g., women’s sports (college, professional) and coaches;
diversity in the NFL, etc.]
injustice in the criminal justice system (e.g., racial profiling, disparities in sentencing,
parole, etc.)
disparities in health, healthcare, and quality of care for racial and ethnic minorities
socio-economic status (class) as a diversity issue
religious diversity and/or discrimination
others as approved
Either of these or another unique topic of interest to the group may be chosen with approval of
the professor.
Deadline: Groups should choose their topic and group members by 9/19 and have one
group member e-mail the topic name and group members’ names by not later that date.
Use UNIQUE DIVERSITY TOPIC as the e-mail subject.
If you would like to choose another topic, write a brief summary of what that topic is about and
its relation to diversity in organizations, and some of your sources by 9/21.
Because this is a “unique” topic, the team may choose “unique” measures of
investigation. Published research, newspaper articles, company and/or team web-sites
(reputable), district attorneys offices, interviews, etc. are just some possible sources,
which, of course, should be well-documented and identified. Do not cite the textbook.
Do not cite WIKI in any form. Teams should organize their findings and discussion to be
cohesive and coherent.
The paper, at a minimum should include:
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Executive Summary
Introduction
Content
Summary
Recommendations for addressing or improving the issues identified or discussed.
References, properly documented
Format2
Any updates to project will be announced in class and changed on web-site.
Adapted from D. Kravitz, GMU
o Begin with a cover page that identifies the class, the semester, the assignment, and
the team members.
o The second page should contain the executive summary and nothing else.
Subsequent pages should contain the body of the report, the references, and any
appendices, in that order.
o Separate sections with headings and, if useful, subheadings. Do not present an
undivided paper. Use the heading and subheadings to organize the paper.
o Use standard white paper, a 12-point font, double-spaced printing, and 1-inch
margins on all sides. Number the pages.
o Papers should be between 16 to 20 pages of text, excluding cover page,
references, and appendices. The content is much more important to me than the
length, and papers should be no longer than needed to convey that content.
The paper must be completely free of typographical and grammatical errors. In
addition,
o The paper should be well written. Among other things, this means the paper
should be properly structured and should flow well. If different team members
write different sections and you make no effort to revise them to make them fit
together, the paper is unlikely to be well written.
o If you quote any documents or informants, be sure you use quotation marks to
show you have done this and give the source as explained in the above bullet
points. Similarly, you must credit others for ideas you take from them, even if you
do not use their words. If you use others’ words or ideas and do not give them
credit, this is plagiarism and is a very big problem. When you draw ideas (but
not words) from a source, be sure you credit the source accordingly.
o All members of the group are individually and jointly responsible for all portions
of the paper, regardless of who was initially responsible for writing each section.
You will all receive credit for the paper, so you must all expect to be penalized if
the paper has been plagiarized in whole or in part. Make sure nobody plagiarized
the sections they wrote.
o The UTA Writing Center is available to assist you if needed but will not write the
paper for you.
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You must have a references section that includes a separate line for each
source of information to which you refer in the paper.
Use a consistent, standard format in providing your references (American
Psychological Association, Academy of Management, etc.). Each source of
information should be distinct and that you give enough information about
each source of information to permit the reader to track it down, assuming it is
available to the public. For example, if you obtain any information from the
web, you must give the exact internet address along with the date and time
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when you downloaded the information. Be very careful with your use of
internet sources—they should be reputable, high quality sources.
List the references in alphabetical order by the first word (e.g., last name of
author or informant; title of document if there is no author).
In the body of the report, be sure to properly cite information you use.
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PRESENTATION
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Each presentation should take not more than 20 minutes, with 5-6 minutes afterwards for
questions. You should do timed test runs to ensure you do not run over.
Prepare Power Point Slides to discuss your work. All group members must present for a
roughly equal amount of time. All group members should appear at the front of the room
during the presentation.
Important Reminder:
This paper should include high quality references from reputable journals, books, and
government or educational web-sites. Be careful with the sources of information you use. A full
reference list is required. Do not cite the textbook. Find additional sources for your work .Other
team members should monitor work to ensure all work is theirs and others’ work is properly
cited—no plagiarism! The paper should be 20-24 pages (not including references), doublespaced, 11 or 12 font. Formatting and presentation are important.
MANA 5332
Fall 2011
Unique Paper Grading Sheet
Topic: ______________________________
Members: __________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary:
5 points possible
Does the executive summary clearly summarize the full report?
Introduction
5 points possible
Is the topic and its relevance to diversity in organizations clear?
Content, Integration, Synthesis, and Writing
Does the paper cover the stated topic thoroughly? Is the paper well organized? 40 points possible.
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Have all the formatting instructions given in the assignment been followed?
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Does the reference list include all sources of information and are they cited appropriately in the body
of the paper?
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Is the paper completely free of writing errors (e.g., typographical, spelling, and grammatical errors)?
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Is the paper properly organized and are the sections integrated and identified with headings?
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Is the writing both articulate and concise? Is all the information that was provided relevant and clear?
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Other (write in)
Formatting
Appearance, quality of references, reference list, etc.
Honors points
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Is the paper exceptionally well written?
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Is some other aspect of the paper exceptional?
10 points possible
5 points maximum
Penalty points (60 points maximum; explain)
Organization and Execution of Presentation (40 points)
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Made good and creative use of presentation aids (e.g., overheads, handout, etc.)
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Presentation was well organized – flowed well
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Presentation was articulate, clear, well-phrased; presenters did not read slides or notes
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Presentation was appropriately balanced over topics/issues
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Presenters handled class and instructor questions well
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Presentation was the appropriate length – not too long and not too short
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All team members spoke and each spoke for about the same amount of time
Honors points: 5 points maximum (explain).
Summary: