Report

ENG 302

Writing Assignment #7: Report/Presentation

As students in the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU, you want to supplement your academic education by availing yourself of professional development opportunities. One of these professional development opportunities is the Young Business Leaders Conference that focuses on fostering essential skills that are hallmarks of successful businesspeople. Instead of attending lectures by business professionals, attendees of this conference give presentations. Typically, two to four participants form a panel that centers on an important concept or skill in business relations. Each panel has a common theme, and presenters speak on different aspects of this theme. There is no limit to your creativity!

For example, leadership skills are crucial in many positions that businesspeople will hold in their careers. In a panel on leadership skills, presenter 1 might explore the use of extrinsic rewards (e.g. bonuses, gifts), presenter 2 might investigate the use of intrinsic rewards (promotion, assignment of more responsible duties), and presenter 3 might report on the characteristics of “servant leadership” (the leader functioning as a servant to those he leads).

In another panel, presenters might draw on their own experience as well as secondary research to prepare conference attendees for interactions with businesspeople in multicultural or international settings. For example, in order to prepare conference attendees for a business trip to China, presenters may consider aspects such as specific characteristics of Chinese business culture and social etiquette. They may also report on related issues such as language problems, health issues, and major tourist attractions (relevant to a specific city where the company of a business partner is located). The website http://executiveplanet.com may give you a good idea of areas presenters would want to cover.

In another panel, presenters might provide information on relatively innovative methods of growing food. Presenter 1 could present research on entomophagy (eating insects), Presenter 2 could talk about aquafarming (raising fish in a controlled environment), and Presenter 3 could explore freight farming (growing produce in freight containers).

The assignment consists of two components:

1.     Written report

2.     Oral presentation

As a group of two to four students (depending on the chosen topic), you will select a topic for your panel presentation and collaborate on both the written report and the oral presentation.

1.     Written Report

The written report is single-spaced and uses Times New Roman, 12-points.

The audience is the organizer of the Young Business Leaders Conference, Jonathan Ellsworth, Ph.D. Dr. Ellsworth will select the best entries and will respond to the presenters to inform them if they have been chosen to present at this highly prestigious conference.

The written report has the following components:

A: Letter of Transmittal: This letter expresses the desire to give a presentation at the Young Business Leaders Conference, announces the topic selected by the panel, offers a brief description/rationale of the panel topic, and presents the speakers with a concise outline of their presentations. The letter concludes with a persuasive statement pertaining to the importance of the chosen topic and provides contact information for the panel leader (5% of grade).

B: Summary (350-500 words) of each individual presentation within the panel. Include the name of each presenter. Each presenter also indicates both primary and secondary sources (APA format). This section will be individually graded (10% of grade).

2.     Oral Presentation

The written portion of the assignment is accompanied by an oral presentation of 15-20 minutes per panel. Please use a Power Point Presentation (number of slides depends on the complexity of the topic) or a Prezi as a visual aid. You need to rehearse your presentation to ensure that you will stay within the allotted time. Even though you will be working on this presentation as a group, the visual aid should look as though a single person had designed it. Each presenter speaks on the section of the written report that he or she developed. You will be graded not only on content, but also on elements such as fluency, clarity, and audience awareness (5% of final grade).