MGMT300 – Business Capstone

Instructor:
Individual Written Assignment

Due: 5:00 PM 15th November 2019 (FRI)

This assignment is an opportunity to you to consider your business school education as you
complete the capstone experience. You may choose a topic that is most interesting or meaningful
to you as you reflect on your learning journey and consider your future plans. The essay should
contain strong reasoning, persuasive arguments, and proper sources to convey your messages.

Assignment:
Write a 2 to 3 page paper on one of the topics below. It should be submitted in paper format in
the designated drop box on the 5th floor LKCSB as well as submitted electronically on eLearn
drop box in MS Word format. The maximum word count is 1000. Papers should be double-
spaced Times New Roman with 12 pt type and normal one-inch margins. An appendix page can
be used for any exhibits or tables if needed. And please include a cover page with your name,
date and topic selected.

Paper topic options: Commented [s1]: Take a look at the proposed topics

1 Reflections on Team Effectiveness

Reflect on this Capstone project that required you to work as part of a team.
How did your team perform?
• What did your team do well in and how did you and your team respond
to setbacks?
• Consider the lessons you learnt that you would adopt in future teams
2 What was your journey in ideating your new business proposal(s) for the client
• What were the challenges in coming up with the new proposal and how
did you and your team overcome those challenges?
• Were you able to leverage on your teammates’ majors and strengths?
• If you were to propose a new idea, what would you do differently?
3 Reflect on the process of working on this Capstone project,
• What are the biggest learning points you have from this project?
• Do you find value in working with a real-world client?
• Did you find opportunities in applying what you’ve learned in SMU to
the project, why or why not?

Often this process of writing an essay can take several iterations – please plan ahead. Trying to
write this on the night before it is due is NOT a good idea as it often takes time to consider topics
like this more deeply.
Grading Rubric
Professional
A B
(32 - 40 marks)
• Organizational structure is
Reasoning used very effectively to
(40%) arrange respective
arguments of the essay in
a way that makes very
clear sense to the reader.
Competent
(28 to 31 marks)
• Organizational structure is
used quite effectively to
arrange respective
arguments of the essay in a
way that makes fairly
clear sense to the reader.
Developing
C
(24 to 27 marks)
• Hardly any or no
organizational structure is
used to arrange arguments
of the essay, thereby
making it difficult for the
reader to follow them.

• Ideas are developed very
clearly and coherently
within respective
paragraphs and across the
essay.
• Ideas are developed in a
fairly clear and coherent
manner within respective
paragraphs and across the
essay.
• Ideas need to be developed
more clearly and coherently
within respective
paragraphs and across the
essay.

• Arguments present • Arguments present

analyses that are very analyses that are fairly • Arguments present analyses
clear, logical, and clear, logical, and that need to be clearer and
convincing. convincing. more well reasoned.

• Supporting details1 are
used very effectively and
consistently to
substantiate
arguments/claims.
• Supporting details are used • Supporting details are
quite effectively to hardly or ineffectively
substantiate some used to substantiate
arguments/claims. arguments/claims.

Professional Competent Developing

A B
(24 - 30 marks)
• Clear evidence that a
Persuasiveness topic that is important is
(30%)
identified and fully
addressed by the student.
• Uses persuasive strategies
such as credible appeals2,
logical appeals3, and
(21 to 23 marks)
• A topic that is important
somewhat identified and
addressed by the student.
• Uses persuasive appeals
such as credible appeals,
logical appeals, and
emotional appeals quite
C
(18 to 20 marks)
• Hardly any or no evidence
that a topic is identified and
addressed by the student.
• Hardly any or ineffective
use of persuasive strategies
such as credible appeals,
logical appeals, and

1 Supporting details are specific facts, evidence, statistics, real-life examples, quotations, etc., used to develop, expand, and
support a given argument.
2
Credible appeals (i.e. credibility and trustworthiness of the author) can be established in a business proposal through the
following ways:
(i) by not giving the reader the impression that the essay is thoughtlessly and/or hastily put together, (ii) by showing that the
essay is well researched; (iii) by citing a reputable source; (iv) by citing reliable sources, and so on.
3 Logical appeals (i.e. logical reasoning of the writer) can be established in the paper through the following ways: (i) by using facts

and evidence to support arguments; (ii) by using real-life examples and case studies; (iii) by addressing opposing points of view
and refuting them, and so on.
 emotional appeals4 very
effectively to persuade
and convince the reader of
the importance.
Professional
A B
(24 - 30 marks)
• Excellent linguistic
Expression ability with hardly any
and errors of spelling,
Use of punctuation, and
Sources grammar.
(30%)
• Expressions are suitable
and well chosen, the
choice of vocabulary is
sophisticated, and
sentence structures are
varied.
• Intended meanings of
author’s points are
conveyed very clearly,
precisely, and concisely.
• Tone is consistently
appropriate throughout
the business proposal.
• Uses very reliable
sources.
• Incorporates material
from source texts very
logically and coherently
(i.e. clear, makes sense,
and easy to follow).
• Provides accurate APA
(i) in-text-citations and
(ii) reference list citations.
4Emotional appeals (i.e. evoking emotions in your audience) can be established in a paper through the following ways: (i) by
using real-life examples that resonate with the stakeholder(s); (ii) by using well chosen analogies and metaphors; (iii) by using
words which add emotional emphasis; (iv) by using appropriate visuals, and so on.
effectively to persuade and
convince the reader.
Competent
(21 to 23 marks)
• Fair linguistic ability with
some errors of spelling,
punctuation, and grammar.
• Use of (i) suitable
expressions and
vocabulary and (ii) varied
sentence structures may
be apparent but to a limited
degree.
• Intended meanings of
author’s points are
conveyed quite clearly.
• Tone is mostly
appropriate.
• Uses sources that are quite
reliable.
• Incorporates material from
source texts quite
coherently and logically.
• Makes very few errors in
the APA (i) in-text-
citations and
(ii) reference list citations
emotional appeals to
persuade and convince the
reader.
Developing
C
(18 to 20 marks)
• Weak linguistic ability with
few sentences showing
control or accuracy in the
areas of spelling,
punctuation, and grammar.
• Expressions, vocabulary,
and sentence structures are
simplistic or incorrectly
used.
• Intended meanings of
author’s points are not
conveyed clearly.
• There are instances where
tone is not appropriate.
• Uses sources that are not
very reliable.
• Incorporates material from
sources illogically and/or
incoherently (i.e. unclear
and confusing)
• Makes a number of errors
in the APA (i) in-text-
citations and
(ii) reference list citations.