This final signature assignment offers you three options (below) for researching and writing on a topic related to organizational communication. Pick the option that interests you the most and that will be most beneficial to your personal and professional goals. All options will require that you provide a thorough review of the literature, adhere to high-quality writing standards, following APA style for grammar, punctuation, in-text citation of sources, reference page, and paper formatting. You must include at least one theory discussed in the text that is relevant to the topic you selected. Attached is a suggested list of focus areas; please note that whatever topic you explore, you must assure that it relates specifically to organizational communication.
Regardless of the option selected, the paper should be at least 2000+ words, double-spaced, using a 12-point Times Roman font. There should be a minimum of 10 sources, including at last five from scholarly journals, such as Management Communication Quarterly, Applied Communication Research Journal, Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research, Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, and Administrative Science Quarterly. Recent news articles, particularly those in business publications such as Harvard Business Review, may also be used. Any web- based information should come from a credible and recent source.
A grading rubric will be provided in advance.
Option 1 – Critical Literature Review
This option allows you to focus on a specific area of organizational communication. Conduct a complete review of the literature in appropriate journals, books, and current articles (not textbooks, including the one for the class). In your written review of your findings, organize your summary of the studies/articles in some meaningful pattern (make sense of it all). A critical review of the literature on your focus topic requires that you make an argument of some sort, based on your findings. Tell us what the literature says, any limitations of the current literature, and your thoughts on what further research is needed. The sections of the paper include Introduction, Literature Review (what they say), your proposed Research Agenda (what you say/discuss), and your Conclusion (brief summary).
Option 2 – Research Proposal
If you are pursuing a career in academia and/or are interested in research, this paper will be a proposal for specific research, complete with your questions/hypotheses for research that haven’t been done yet. This is similar to the critical literature review above, except that you will use the literature review to support the need for your proposed study. You won’t carry out your research in this class; you will just learn to develop a proposal for research, using your literature review to back up your research proposal. A part of the proposal will be suggesting your method of research (e.g., quantitative or qualitative) and describing the type of study you wish to do (such
 
as an ethnography, survey, focus groups, experiment, etc.). Your proposal would include the Introduction (brief information about the subject matter and why it’s important to look at), Literature Review, Proposed Methodology, and Conclusion.
Option 3 – Full Research Project
If you already have a research project in mind, and a place willing to have you conduct research, you can conduct that research during this seven-week class. Please let me know if you are choosing this option as quickly as possible so that I can guide you appropriately. Research methods could include a survey, interviews, experiment, ethnography, etc. Your paper would need to include an Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results and Analysis, Discussion, Conclusion.
Suggested Topics for Organizational Communication Papers
Choose a topic with highlighted with RED & Bold {prefer Sexual Harassment or Communication Strategies}
Choose: Conflict Management, Sexual Harassment, Organizational Climate, Communication Strategies
1. Conflict Management
2. Sexual Harassment  ******
3. Organizational Change
4. Great Place to Work/Human Resources
5. Equal Pay/Equal Work
6. Fair Trade (not Free Trade)
7. Quality/Safety Performance
8. Organizational Culture
9. Organizational Climate
10. Group/Team Remote
11. Communication Strategies ***