HPU CAREER SERVICES CENTER
Internship/Co-op Papers
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Paper MUST be typed and double-spaced.
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Type a cover page which MUST include:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Title of Paper
Your Place of Employment
Semester
Your Name
5) Course Number (e.g., CO-OP 2991)
6) Counselor’s Name
7) Date
PAPER GRADING GUIDELINES
CRITERIA
GRADE
FINAL SCORE
CONTENT (70%)
Reflects clear description, analysis, and
insight into the topic. Logical thinking
reflected in arguments. Guidelines are
satisfied and fully developed.
X 70 =
ORGANIZATION (20%)
Main ideas are stated clearly. Paragraphs
follow a logical sequence.
LANGUAGE (10%)
Spelling is correct. Grammar is correct
(e.g., sentence structure, subject-verb
agreement, verb tense, punctuation, etc.)
X 20 =
X 10 =
TOTAL =
GRADES:
FINAL SCORE:
3 = Above Average. Exceeds basic expectations.
190 - 300 = “P”ass
2 = Average. Satisfies basic guidelines.
101-189 = Revise and resubmit
1 = Needs Improvement.
100 = “F”ail
TERM PAPER TOPIC
A
INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPANY & YOUR POSITION
1. Describe the type of business in which you work. Give details of the goods/services, number
of stores/offices, length of time in business, customer profile, and other related information.
2. Describe in detail a typical day on the job. Explain exactly what you do.
3. Describe one or more skills you have learned on this job that may be applied to future jobs.
4. In your opinion, what would make this business more successful, profitable, or efficient?
TERM PAPER TOPIC
B
JOB CRITIQUE/SELF-EVALUATION
1. What aspects of this job do you like?
2. What aspects of this job do you dislike?
3. What strengths and weaknesses (or limitations) have you discovered about
while working at this job?
4. What additional duties could you perform to make this job more interesting?
5. Complete a résumé.
yourself
TERM PAPER TOPIC
BC
SELF-EVALUATION AND RESUME
1. For this paper, you are to put yourself in the manager’s place and evaluate yourself. What
kind of employee have you been? When rating yourself, give specific examples from your
work experience that explain the rating you gave yourself. The rating scale should range
from “unsatisfactory” to “below average” to “average” to “above average” to “outstanding.”
If you rate yourself as less than “outstanding” in any category, indicate what you will do to
improve in these areas. Seven areas you should address are:
•
•
•
•
•
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Relations with others
Dependability
Attendance
Initiative
Ability to learn/excel
Acceptance of criticism
Overall performance
2. Submit an updated resume that reflects this current work experience.
TERM PAPER TOPIC
C
STEPS TOWARD JOB SUCCESS
As part of your Co-op or Internship, you must receive a satisfactory “Employee Performance
Evaluation.” Your supervisor will evaluate you on seven criteria:
1. RELATIONS WITH OTHERS
2. DEPENDABILITY
3. ATTENDANCE
4. INITIATIVE
5. ABILITY TO LEARN/EXCEL
6. ACCEPTANCE OF CRITICISM
7. OVERALL PERFORMANCE
Give specific examples from your work experience that illustrate these criteria. In addition,
evaluate yourself as Outstanding, Above Average, Average, Needs Improvement, or
Unsatisfactory on each of the criteria, and explain why you would give yourself that particular
rating.
TERM PAPER TOPIC
D
THE ORGANIZATION
1. Describe and illustrate the organizational structure of the company in which you are
employed.
2. Discuss the organizational culture (i.e., values, beliefs, traditions, symbols) of the company.
Give an example of how the organizational culture is demonstrated in the way the company
does business.
3. Describe the management style of the organization. Discuss how such issues as decision
making, employee training and development, and career advancement are influenced by the
management style.
4. If the organization you work for is efficient and productive, explain how it demonstrates
these outcomes. If, in your opinion, the organization is not efficient or productive, then explain
how you would reorganize the company to increase efficiency and productivity.
TERM PAPER TOPIC
E
ORGANIZATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
All businesses exist in constantly changing external environments. Explain how the following
trends affect the organization in which you are working. Consider each trend in local and/or
international terms (e.g., How do the local and international economic climates affect the
company’s operations?):
1. Economic
2. Political
3. Societal
4. Technological
TERM PAPER TOPIC
F
EMPLOYEE EVALUATION - A HUMAN RESOURCES PERSPECTIVE
When you enter the ranks of management in an organization, one of your responsibilities will
be to evaluate your employees’ work performance. Taking a human resources perspective,
evaluate several employees in your organization. Consider such issues as their knowledge of
the business, acceptance of criticism, etc. (This paper will be confidential; however, please do
NOT use real names.)
1. What are the employee’s strengths, professionally and personally. How do
these strengths impact their job performance?
2. What are the employee’s weaknesses, professionally and personally. How do these
weaknesses impact their job performance?
3. What form of training and development would you recommend for these employees so they
can improve their job performance?
TERM PAPER TOPIC
G
PROBLEM ANALYSIS
(CRITICAL THINKING)
“Problem solving is the process of bridging a perceived gap between what is and what ought to
be.” John Dewey said that a problem well defined is half solved. With these thoughts in mind:
1. Identify a current problem in your organization. Why is this issue a problem?
2. Analyze the root causes of the problem. For example, are the causes related to lack of
resources, number of personnel, job design, personality characteristics, lack of training, etc.?
3. Identify possible solutions.
4. Select one solution and explain why it is the best alternative (i.e., the feasibility, rationality,
and acceptability of the chosen solution).
5. Describe what is required to implement your chosen solution.
6. Predict the consequences of the solution you have selected.
7. How would you evaluate the outcome? For example, how would you know the solution you
chose has solved the problem?
TERM PAPER TOPIC
H
PROJECT AND REFLECTION/SELF-EVALUATION
(Project + 6-8 pages)
If you have a project assigned to you at work, you may turn in the final report as part of your
paper for Topic G. The additional 6 pages should be your written reflection regarding:
1. The process of doing the project. What resistance did you face? How did you gain
acceptance?
2. The project’s impact on the organization. Did it solve a problem?
3. Your evaluation of your own participation in the project.
TERM PAPER TOPIC
I
PERSONAL CAREER ACTION PLAN
It is important for students to fully understand their interests, skills, abilities, values, and limitations when
choosing a career. This term paper is designed to help you: 1) Analyze and evaluate information about yourself
which is crucial to career exploration; 2) Research possible career options appropriate to your skills and
interests; and 3) Establish short- and long-range goals and develop a “career action plan” to help you reach
them.
1. Self Assessment and Career Exploration
∙ What strengths do you have to offer an employer? Discuss at least three strengths. What kind of companies
would hire people with your skills and experience?
∙ What are your limitations (things you cannot do well or dislike)? How can you further develop these areas?
∙ What type of career do you want to pursue? Visualize it and describe it. What kind of position do you hope
to obtain after graduation? What do you hope to be doing ten years after graduation?
∙ If you wish, you may include results from any career interest or personality tests you have taken (e.g.,
Strong Vocational Interest Inventory, Myers Briggs, etc.).
2. Research
∙ Using library and/or Internet resources, describe the skills, education, and training, as well as, job outlook
for both your short- and long-range occupational goals. Cite your sources!
∙ Are there similar occupations you might consider?
(A variety of resources is available on the second floor of Meader Library in the Co-op Collection. Selected
titles include: The Occupation Outlook Handbook, VGM Professional Series, and the Dictionary of Occupation
Tittles. Ask your librarian for assistance. The Career Services Center website also has resources listed. Visit
www.hpu.edu/csc and click on Students > Resources)
3. Career Action Plan
∙ Now that you have explored your strengths, limitations, and possible occupational choices, develop your
career action plan. What steps do you need to take to achieve your short- and long-range goals? If you lack
certain skills, how will you acquire them? Make sure you include target dates for completion.
TERM PAPER TOPIC
K
DEVELOPMENT OF A BUSINESS PLAN
The development of a business plan is an essential building block in launching any new
enterprise. The process of developing a business plan is a valuable intellectual exercise for the
entrepreneur because it forces him/her to think through every aspect of the business. A business
plan is an absolutely essential item for those asked to become involved with a new business by
providing financing or becoming a supplier or customer.
Address each of the following as you create your own business plan.
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Summarize and encapsulate the business idea.
Describe and analyze the potential market.
Indicate how the business will respond to the perceived opportunity.
Explain how the business will be launched and managed.
Explain how the business will be financed.
Suggest the long-term course of development that is envisioned.
TERM PAPER TOPIC
L
INDUSTRY TRENDS/PROFESSIONAL OUTLOOK
Discuss trends in the specific industry or profession in which you are working. You should
seek information about trends from your colleagues and managers, from others working in the
same industry/profession, from industrial/professional publications and academic texts, and
from library reference sources.
1. What direction is the industry/profession going?
2. What are the career opportunities in this industry/profession? Locally? Nationally?
Internationally?
3. What is a typical career path in this industry/profession?
4. What trends in this industry/profession have you seen demonstrated during your work
experience?
5. What trends in this industry/profession have you learned about from your academic
coursework?
TERM PAPER TOPIC
M
MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
The function of management is to plan, organize, staff, lead, and direct.
1. PLANNING: deciding what objectives to pursue and what to do in order to achieve those objectives.
∙ What were the objectives of your work assignment?
∙ How did you reach these objectives?
2. ORGANIZING: grouping activities, assigning activities, and providing the authority necessary to carry out the
activities. Your job tasks are only a part of an entire process.
∙ What other activities influenced what you did?
∙ What was the chain of command and scope of authority?
3.
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STAFFING: determining human resource needs and recruiting, selecting, training, and developing human resources.
What is the company’s procedure for recruiting and selecting employees?
What type of training did you receive? Are there changes that should be made in the current training process?
How does the company you work for develop its human resources? (Cross-training? School? Seminars?)
4. LEADING: directing and channeling human behavior toward the accomplishment of objectives.
∙ What means did your manager employ in directing you to your job? (Reward? Coercion?)
∙ What kind of leader was your manager? Explain.
(a) Autocratic: makes all the decisions; or
(b) Laissez-faire: allows people within the group to make all the decisions; or
(c) Democratic: guides and encourages the group to make decisions.
5. DIRECTING: measuring performance against objectives, determining cause of deviations, and taking corrective
action when necessary. In order to measure performance, standards, which are based on objectives, must be
established. Standards outline what is expected of a job and/or individual.
∙ What are some of the standards set by the company you have been working for and are the associated controls
realistic?
6. PROCESS: any process must be monitored; monitoring is based on feedback which is in turn dependent upon the
involvement of subordinates.
∙ What procedures were you to employ when you realized a problem with the flow of your work?
∙ How difficult or easy was it to make an adjustment in the procedures that governed your job?
TERM PAPER TOPIC
N
ON-THE-JOB STRESS
Stress occurs when we are faced with a tense or threatening situation that requires us to change
or adapt our behavior, especially if we are to accomplish specified goals.
“Adjustment” refers to attempts to cope with a particular situation as best we can, while
balancing our desires against the demands of the environment.
1. What were some of the pressures or frustrations you experienced on the job? What caused
them? Could they have been avoided?
2. Did any aspect of this work experience cause conflicts for you (e.g., with friends or with
your values or beliefs)?
3. What made you aware that you were experiencing stress? How did you change or cope with
the situation?
TERM PAPER TOPIC
O
MARKETING THE FOUR P’S
Marketing is a series of decisions and actions that a seller takes to induce the buyer to commit
to a particular product or service. “Marketing” is determining what product to sell. “Selling”
determines the how, where, when, and to whom a product or service is to be provided.
Successful marketing strikes a subtle balance between the needs of the customer and the needs
of the organization.
Describe a new or existing product or service that would benefit the organization for which you
are working. Discuss how you would introduce this product or service by addressing the four
P’s:
1. PLACE:
Where to sell the product or service?
2. PRICE:
What price range to establish for product or service?
3. PRODUCT:
Sell all products or specialize?
4. PROMOTION:
How and where to advertise?
TERM PAPER TOPIC
P
SALES TECHNIQUES
Good salespersons are made, not born. Successful selling comes from skills: asking questions,
controlling the conversation, listening effectively, countering objectives, and stressing benefits.
These skills help win a client’s trust. They are impressed when questions are asked, their needs
are elicited, and product knowledge is exhibited.
1. Describe in detail the service or product offered by your company.
2. Discuss the elements of a successful sale.
3. How do you use specific sales techniques to process a sale from start to finish?
4. Describe the types of clients you encounter. Does your sales technique differ depending on
the type of client?