Individual Assignment 3: ***Signature Assignment Recommendations for increasing value, creativity and

innovation in a specific company.

Due Week 7 (Sunday night midnight)

Value 300 points
Length: 12-15 pages (page count does not include appendices, title page, visual display or references).
With Signature Assignments that are due on Week 7 all students must turn in their papers at the due date and no late papers will be
graded for points, as the term is over, and students and faculty must prepare for the next term.
Be sure you include information from the Isaksen and Magretta text books and cite using APA. Citations should be short. The
citations from both books must be direct applications from the text. This means that you do not use the textbook to define concepts
like (creativity, innovation, creative problem solving) but you use the textbook to apply what you have learned. Remember using the
textbooks to define concepts is undergraduate work.
Note: This final assignment is worth approximately ⅓ of your grade. Be very careful to follow the Rubric and the instructions below.
In this paper students are to show mastery of all that they have learned through application of those concepts from this class into this
final assignment. Review the Course Learning Outcomes found below as great papers will give indications that learning has occurred
in each of the following six categories :
1. Examine existing personal creativity skills and cultivate additional personal creativity skills in both personal and professional
settings.
2. Analyze the connection between creativity, leadership and bringing value and solving problems within the workplace.
3. Analyze the need for increasing creative thought in a complex global environment including designing strategies to increase
cash, profit and growth through understanding competitive dynamics.
4. Identify the various business segments and the different or similar ways that each segment drives for profitability through
creativity and resultant innovation.
5. Analyze and apply decision matrices especially Michael Porter’s work for creative opportunities, or to mitigate risk and/or
legal considerations in the global marketplace including compliance with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
6. Develop collaborative processes across stakeholders, including customers and suppliers to increase creativity and innovation.
Students will begin this final paper by reviewing the comments and suggestions from their instructor from Assignment 2, which was
the outline for many issues addressed in this final paper. The instructor will review Assignment 2 before grading Assignment 3 to be
sure that all suggestions from that paper have been incorporated into the final paper.

This paper will follow all APA guidelines and will be: Double Spaced, Times New Roman, APA Headings, Title Page, References
and APA citations. This is an example of an APA sample paper. Long quotes are not to be used in this paper, thus, all quotes should
be from seven to twelve words and must use APA citations. This is a research paper with recommendations.
After reading assigned chapters in Isaksen and Magretta and course materials compare and contrast what you thought about creativity
and innovation before this class and after this class. Reflect on what you learned and create an Action Plan where you could more fully
engage in creativity and innovation with the knowledge learned in the text. Use APA headings. Sources (must be current - five years)
other than the textbook can include: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Wired Magazine, etc. Current
Academic sources are encouraged as they are relevant and recent (all sources listed above can be found in the Brandman Library).
Current Academic sources are encouraged only as they are relevant and recent (also in the Brandman Library).. Use the guide below
for your paper.
This final paper will include research on the industry in which your team worked, and the research gathered on the individual business
chosen by the student. This paper will be easier if students choose American publicly held companies (company on the American
Stock Exchange or NASDAQ) as financial information is readily available on those companies. Students may use this or other sources
In the analysis section students are to examine how creativity and innovation have impacted the business. Based upon research and
analysis students are to design strategies to increase cash, profit and growth through understanding innovation and competitive
dynamics within the global marketplace. Students will analyze and apply decision matrices for creative opportunities, and/or to
mitigate risk and/or legal considerations in the global marketplace. One method that students will develop are collaborative processes
across stakeholders, including customers and suppliers to increase creativity and innovation and profitability. This paper will also
include a visual representation of their strategy to increase creativity and innovation within the business.
Introduction
Will include research on the industry in which your team worked, and the research gathered on the individual business chosen by the
student. The introduction will clearly point to the Action Plan and will show the analyses that the student has chosen. The introduction
is written after the analysis and action plan as until those sections are written the student does not know what they are introducing. The
information from Assignment 2 in this class will be referred to in the introduction especially the history and position of the business
within the industry, the history of innovation (successful and unsuccessful) The introduction is never more than ¾ of one page, so be
succinct.
Analysis
The Analysis section will be written first and ranges from 10 to 12 pages in length. The Analysis will be divided into three sections of
approximately equal length (three to four pages for each of the three sections, Risk, ). Students do not need to use the exact three
major headings below, but they are recommended.
Risk
The research from Assignment 2 on risk can be included and expanded upon here (but not copied and pasted). The risk that the student
identifies for this paper will be clearly explained using data analysis (not opinion). The risks will generally include a risk that can be
solved using the material from this course (creativity, innovation collaboration between stakeholders). So risk factors for having “old
machinery” or for something general like “bad management” would not qualify for this paper.
Competition
Again, starting with the information gathered in Assignment 2 for this class, research further and analyze what the competition within
the same industry is doing that may be better than the business that the student choose. Opportunities often come from an honest
analysis of the competition. The competition chosen does not need to be the largest competitors, but need to be a company that is
competing for roughly the same customers. Identify ways that the competition is more collaborative, creative and or innovative. Most
students will choose three competitors to analyze. It will be easier if students choose competitors who are publicly held as financial
information is readily available. This portion of the assignment lends itself to a graph or chart that is followed by analysis (the
variables on the left may vary with each business.)

Chosen company Competitor 1 Competitor 2 Competitor 3

Recent innovation or
creativity

Profitability of recent
innovation or creativity

Profitability of company
 - or growth within
market sector over the
last five years.

Remember the section on competition will be three to four pages long and a chart is to provide clarity but is not sufficient in and of
itself. To find out more about profitability look for recent articles, securities and exchange
Collaboration
In the above competition section through research the student may find that competitors are more strongly collaborative in some
creative and interesting ways. This three to four page section of paper will highlight the opportunities that have been found in the
research from the risk and competition sections above. Remember this is not the Action Plan (see below) so students do not make
recommendations here, but show the data in depth and analyze some of the stronger synergies that have resulted in increased
profitability.

Action Plan
Students will develop a plan with exact steps that will be taken to develop collaborative thinking across stakeholders, customers and
suppliers to increase creativity and innovation. This Action Plan will include information from the text and from the students own
lessons learned in this class about creativity and innovation. Within this Action Plan students can place themselves within the
company that they have chosen and assume that they are part of the Action Plan. The Action Plan is from ¾ of a page to two pages
long. The Action Plan is measurable and uses SMART goals. Remember the Action Plan is built in part on what you have learned in
this class about your own ability to be a creative problem solver.
Visual Representation

Students are to turn the Action Plan into a Visual Representation, The visual representation should be no more than one page and no
less than a quarter of a page. The visual representation may use any of the following technology (use the free versions). Students are to
embed the Visual Representation into the ONE WORD DOCUMENT that will be turned in (in other words students can’t submit the
visual representation in another document or attachment as for Signature Assignments only ONE WORD DOCUMENT can be
graded. Be creative here, there is a million ways to do this “right.”
 This is a place for students to show their new found creativity!
Padlet
Mindmeister
Lucidchart
Infogram

References

Follow APA guidelines and cite all research that has been used in the paper. Students cannot include references for sources not cited
in the paper.

Individual Assignment 3 Rubric

Criteria Exemplary Proficient Developing Emerging Not Completed

**Introduction 30 26 22 18 0
and Thesis Engaging opening Opening introduces the Opening is logically Opening is poorly No opening
 introduces the paper’s paper’s general topic but organized, but may organized and/or introduction
10% general topic and inspires may not stimulate lack development; lacks development.
thinking about the topic. thinking about the topic. paper’s topic is clear, Thesis statement is
Intro Writer explains that they Writer states his or her but needs to be weak or missing.
will bring options and position on the current developed to engage
opportunities that bring topic in a thesis the reader. Thesis
value. The Introduction is statement. statement lacks
easily identifiable, well development.
phrased, and lets the
reader know that major
supporting points; the
idea offered in the thesis
reflects sound critical,
analytical thinking.
Analysis 75 65 55 45 0
A comprehensive analysis An analysis of research, A somewhat brief A weak attempt at No analysis
25% of research, demographic demographic data, analysis of research, analysis and research, provided
data, competitive competitive analysis, demographic data, demographic data,
Analysis analysis, risk competition competition, competitive analysis, competitive analysis,
and collaboration are collaboration and risk are competition, competition
utilized. Makes it clear utilized. Makes it clear collaboration and risk collaboration and risk
that the goal of analysis to that the goal of analysis are utilized. Makes it are utilized. Makes it
bring value. to bring value. clear that the goal of clear that the goal of
analysis to bring value. analysis to bring
value.
Creative and 60 52 44 36 0
Innovative Students apply creative Students show some Students somewhat Students do not Paper is missing
thinking and innovative deep creative and innovative show creative thinking demonstrate a deep creative and
20% thinking to the outline. thinking to the outline. to the outline. Course understanding of innovative
The textbook and course Course materials are materials are creative and techniques and
C&I Thinking materials are applied in an applied. somewhat applied. innovative techniques strategies
interesting and creative or strategies.
manner.
Business and 15 13 11 9 0
Scholarly Effectively integrates Generally incorporates Occasionally Does not integrate No business or
Sources credible academic or credible academic or incorporates credible credible academic scholarly sources
business sources into the business sources into the academic sources into sources into the provided
5% outline; in-text citations outline; most in-text the outline; adherence outline inconsistent
are presented in accurate source citations reflect to APA style adherence to APA
Sources APA style; paper includes accurate APA style. guidelines may be guidelines for in-text
APA style “References” “References” page lists inconsistent but does citations, which may
page, listing authoritative authoritative primary not compromise the compromise integrity
sources; utilizes an and/or secondary sources integrity of the paper; of the paper;
appropriate balance of but may contain minor “References” page lists inaccurate or missing
quoted material and the errors in APA style; there several authoritative “References” page.
writer’s analysis; all may be a minor secondary sources and Block and direct
source material is imbalance between generally follows APA quotes are over
accurately quoted, quoted material and the style guidelines. utilized and/or not
paraphrased or writer’s analysis. Block Occasionally block and used appropriately.
summarized to give and direct quotes are direct quotes are over
authors credit for ideas. generally used sparingly utilized and/or not
Block and direct quotes and appropriately used appropriately.
are used sparingly and
effectively.
Visual 30 26 22 18 0
Representation Creatively and clearly Clearly demonstrates the Demonstrate the The Action Plan is No creativity or
10% demonstrates the Action Action Plan with a deep Action Plan with deep either highly creative clarity of action
Plan. Shows a deep understanding of the understanding of the but hard to understand plan
Visual understanding of the material. Successfully material and applies or easy to understand
material and successful applies technology. technology. but does not
technology is applied. necessarily apply to
the Action Plan.
Action Plan 45 39 33 27 0
Summarizes the topic and Summarizes the topic Vaguely summarizes Does not summarize No action plan
15% the ways to bring value, and ways to bring value, the topic and opinion the topic and opinion provided
restating the major restating the supporting or argument. or argument. Brings
Action Plan supporting points and points and in new data.
findings/analysis from findings/analysis from
each section of the paper, each section of the paper,
with the purpose of states conclusion(s)
supporting the thesis; based on the research.
states conclusion(s) based
on research; ways to take
action or to be open to
another way of thinking.

Grammar 15 13 11 9 0
Effective syntax and Syntax and grammar Awkward syntax and Frequent syntax, No adherence to
5% grammar demonstrate a demonstrate mastery of grammar may impair grammar, and/or this criteria
mastery of writing writing conventions but clarity; misspellings, spelling errors impair
Grammar conventions and serves may be awkward; a few run-on sentences, clarity; numerous run-
the author’s purpose; misspellings or sentence fragments, or on sentences,
writing is free of punctuation errors are other errors are present sentence fragments,
misspellings and present. throughout the paper. or other errors impair
punctuation errors. meaning throughout
the paper.
Formatting 30 26 22 18 0
Title of the paper clearly Title of the paper reflects Title of the paper Title of the paper No APA
10% reflects its content. The its content. The title and vaguely reflects its does not reflect its formatting used
title and other document other document content. The title and content. The title and
Formatting formatting demonstrate. formatting demonstrate other document other document
APA headings are general adherence to formatting only formatting does not
carefully adhered to. APA style guidelines. occasionally demonstrate
APA headings are demonstrate adherence adherence to APA
carefully adhered to. to APA style style guidelines. More
guidelines. APA than three errors in
headings are adhered APA headings.
to.