C O N T I N U I N G
E D U C A T I O N
The Design, Marketing,
and Implementation of
Online Continuing
Education About
Computers and
Nursing Informatics
NANCY M. SWEENEY, DNSc, RN
LEMBI SAARMANN, EdD, RN
ROBERT SEIDMAN, PhD
JOAN FLAGG, PhD, RN
As long ago as 1995, an American Nurses Association
position statement supported the ‘‘computerization of
health information,’’ including computerized patient
records and the simultaneous collection of aggregate
patient care and outcome data.1 The Institute of Medi-
cine (IOM)2 brought the need for computerization to
the forefront when it reported on preventable medical
errors in 1999, errors that cost the nation between $17
and $29 billion and contributed to between 44 000 and
98 000 patient deaths annually. Noting that many of
the errors could have been prevented by automated
medication systems, a later IOM report called for the
implementation of a healthcare information infrastruc-
ture including automated patient records and drug
ordering systems.3
While healthcare systems are not yet fully automated,
nurses need to use computers and software to function
in their jobs. However, most working nurses gradu-
ated before computers and nursing informatics were
integrated into curricula and many did not return for
additional formal education that might have taught
them about those subjects. The latest National Sam-
ple Survey of Registered Nurses (2000) showed the
average age of nurses working in nursing to be 43.3
years, with 68% of the nurses older than 40 years.
Only 19% of survey respondents reported continuing
their formal nursing education after initial licensure,
with the most commonly achieved degree being the
baccalaureate.4 Thus, the job of educating nurses
to work with computers and computerized patient
records falls to employers and the purveyors of con-
tinuing education. This article describes a university-
based community project offering asynchronous online
CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing & September/October 2006 269
CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing & Vol. 24, No. 5, 269–277 & B 2006 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
Asynchronous online tutorials using PowerPoint
slides with accompanying audio to teach prac-
ticing nurses about computers and nursing
informatics were designed for this project,
which awarded free continuing education units
to completers. Participants had control over the
advancement of slides, with the ability to repeat
when desired. Graphics were kept to a mini-
mum; thus, the program ran smoothly on com-
puters using dial-up modems. The tutorials
were marketed in live meetings and through
e-mail messages on nursing listservs. Findings
include that the enrollment process must be
automated and instantaneous, the program
must work from every type of computer and
Internet connection, marketing should be live
and electronic, and workshops should be
offered to familiarize nurses with the online
learning system.
K E Y W O R D S
Attitude to computers & ...
TỔNG ÔN TẬP THI VÀO LỚP 10 MÔN TIẾNG ANH NĂM HỌC 2023 - 2024 CÓ ĐÁP ÁN (NGỮ Â...
C O N T I N U I N GE D U C A T I O NThe Design, Market.docx
1. C O N T I N U I N G
E D U C A T I O N
The Design, Marketing,
and Implementation of
Online Continuing
Education About
Computers and
Nursing Informatics
NANCY M. SWEENEY, DNSc, RN
LEMBI SAARMANN, EdD, RN
ROBERT SEIDMAN, PhD
JOAN FLAGG, PhD, RN
As long ago as 1995, an American Nurses Association
position statement supported the ‘‘computerization of
health information,’’ including computerized patient
records and the simultaneous collection of aggregate
patient care and outcome data.1 The Institute of Medi-
cine (IOM)2 brought the need for computerization to
the forefront when it reported on preventable medical
errors in 1999, errors that cost the nation between $17
and $29 billion and contributed to between 44 000 and
98 000 patient deaths annually. Noting that many of
the errors could have been prevented by automated
medication systems, a later IOM report called for the
implementation of a healthcare information infrastruc-
2. ture including automated patient records and drug
ordering systems.3
While healthcare systems are not yet fully automated,
nurses need to use computers and software to function
in their jobs. However, most working nurses gradu-
ated before computers and nursing informatics were
integrated into curricula and many did not return for
additional formal education that might have taught
them about those subjects. The latest National Sam-
ple Survey of Registered Nurses (2000) showed the
average age of nurses working in nursing to be 43.3
years, with 68% of the nurses older than 40 years.
Only 19% of survey respondents reported continuing
their formal nursing education after initial licensure,
with the most commonly achieved degree being the
baccalaureate.4 Thus, the job of educating nurses
to work with computers and computerized patient
records falls to employers and the purveyors of con-
tinuing education. This article describes a university-
based community project offering asynchronous online
CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing & September/October
2006 269
CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing & Vol. 24, No. 5, 269–
277 & B 2006 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
Asynchronous online tutorials using PowerPoint
slides with accompanying audio to teach prac-
ticing nurses about computers and nursing
informatics were designed for this project,
which awarded free continuing education units
3. to completers. Participants had control over the
advancement of slides, with the ability to repeat
when desired. Graphics were kept to a mini-
mum; thus, the program ran smoothly on com-
puters using dial-up modems. The tutorials
were marketed in live meetings and through
e-mail messages on nursing listservs. Findings
include that the enrollment process must be
automated and instantaneous, the program
must work from every type of computer and
Internet connection, marketing should be live
and electronic, and workshops should be
offered to familiarize nurses with the online
learning system.
K E Y W O R D S
Attitude to computers & Computer-assisted instruction &
Distance education & Distance learning &
Nursing informatics
CECE
From the School of Nursing (Dr Sweeney, Dr Saarmann, and Dr
Flagg); and the Graduate School of Public Health (Dr Seidman),
San Diego State University, San Diego, CA.
The project was funded by Health Resources and Services
Administration Grant Number D11HP00284.
5. continuing education programs, only 10% of the re-
spondents reported using the Internet for education.7
Studies report that the nurses most likely to use online
education are those who see themselves as self-directed
and disciplined,8 used computers more hours each
week, and had more computer experience and experi-
ence navigating the Internet.9
Despite individual nurse hesitance toward computer-
based and online modalities, employers instituted them
as an efficient way to educate employees. Franck and
Langenkamp10 report working with information systems
personnel to design and implement PowerPoint-based
modules for staff on computers throughout the organi-
zation. Staff were very satisfied with the computer-based
education and demonstrated excellent knowledge reten-
tion over time. Nurses completing computer-based
learning at another institution gave more positive ratings
than did those in the instructor-led environment and
expressed significantly more interest in future classes.11
A later study at the same facility showed significantly
higher satisfaction with the learning experience among
the computer-based nurses than the instructor-led
group.12 Schmitt et al13 describe an online continuing
education program offered through a university that
nurses were not completing because of a lack of con-
fidence in their computer skills or computer literacy, a
lack of Internet access at home, and images requiring
long download times. The university had to create an
alternate, paper-copy version of the course so that nurses
could complete it in a timely fashion. Nurses attempting
an online college course experienced myriad problems,
including the need for significant technical assistance,
the desire for more instructor contact, the need for self-
6. discipline, and finding a quiet place to work at home, yet
79% of the nurses completed the course, stating that
they enjoyed the flexibility of online learning.14 Leasure
and colleagues8 report that undergraduate nursing stu-
dents who identified themselves as self-directed, disci-
plined, and not procrastinators chose an online rather
than the traditional section of a research course.
A closer look at the design of computer-based and
online education programs demonstrates that authors
used Web-CT13,15–17 or PowerPoint slides10–12 as their
basic modality, adding options as needed. Nurse au-
thors describing experiences with designing online
learning for nurses report that care must be taken to
communicate clearly16 and often18 and to give adequate
support.16 Nurse educators recommend and describe
active learning strategies suitable for adult students of
all learning styles18 and detail interactive teaching
methods suitable for Web-based courses19 to promote
optimal learning. Curran-Smith and Best15 describe an
online course using Web-CT designed at a hospital
needing to update staff on emergency department
procedures. It included content provided in text format
and six scenarios used in a discussion on the bulletin
board. While participation rates were excellent, evalua-
tion of outcomes stimulated the hospital to develop
ongoing programs to enhance staff computer skills. At
a large children’s hospital, Web-based self-study mod-
ules incorporating hypertext links, learner control, and
interactivity/feedback were created for staff develop-
ment.9 Users gained knowledge and left with a strong
positive perception of online learning. Educators at
Sinclair Community College described the process of
searching for the right template for their Web-CT–
based courses so that the text was used easily by all
students, including those with disabilities.17 Cragg et al20
8. partners gathered together in a community partnership
called the Nursing Informatics Community (NIC). Mem-
bers of the NIC were nurses involved in information
systems at their employing organizations, which in-
cluded the local healthcare systems, school districts,
and the public health department. The target audience
was nurses living or working in the two southernmost
counties in California, San Diego and Imperial. The
tutorials would award CEUs at no cost to participants.
To demonstrate the need for the project, two local sur-
veys were completed: one of practicing nurses and the
other of their employers.
The survey of the practicing nurses asked about
their use of computers at work and at home, their
computer training, and their perceived computer com-
petency. Completed surveys were received from 192
nurses working at four healthcare systems and one
school district participating in the NIC. Details of the
responses are found in Table 1. Fewer than a quarter
(23%) of the respondents stated that they were ‘‘very
satisfied’’ with their computer skills; another 49% of
the respondents reported being ‘‘somewhat satisfied.’’
A majority of respondents (83%) stated that they were
interested in taking classes to improve their computer
skills, and 87% of the respondents were interested in
computer education offered in an asynchronous online
format that would award CEUs. When asked if they
would need a live workshop to learn how to use the
Web to participate in the online learning, 78% of the
respondents answered ‘‘maybe’’ or ‘‘definitely.’’
The employer survey asked how computers were
used at each facility. Five healthcare systems, two local
9. health departments, two districts of the Indian Health
Service, one hospice, and 44 school districts responded
to the survey. One hospital had full electronic charting
for nursing data, while the remainder of the respond-
ing hospitals had minimal, if any, electronic systems to
document nursing care. Some hospitals had electronic
physician order entry, and all hospitals had some form
of computerized pharmacy and laboratory systems.
They also had some form of management information
systems and provided nurses with Internet access and
e-mail. The school districts had information systems that
had fields in which school nurses entered and tracked
information such as immunizations, individual student
health problems, insurance coverage, and health histo-
ries. The health departments and the Indian Health
Service districts either had word-processing functions
or were in the process of implementing them. None had
electronic patient charting for nurses but did provide
the nurses with Internet access for professional infor-
mation. All responding organizations were planning to
upgrade their information systems in the near future,
which would demand that nurses be able to understand
and possibly use multiple systems (most had legacy
systems that did not interact). They wanted their nurses
to have baseline knowledge of computer systems,
including capabilities and strengths and weaknesses,
to which they would add in-service education on the
use of specific software programs.
THE IMPLEMENTATION PHASE
Web Site Design
Once funding was secured, Web site design began.
During that process, project staff realized that while
they were designing and testing graphics and other
10. characteristics from high-end computers with broad-
band connections, learners would be using computers
with varying capabilities and Internet connectivities,
including dial-up modems. As a result, the Web site
and tutorials were designed using a minimal amount
of graphics to convey content in a reasonable period
of time for users with dial-up connections. Also, the
sponsoring university’s colors (red and black) were
found to be too harsh for the long-term viewing
necessitated by these tutorials, so pleasing shades of
blue and white were selected for the NIC Web site and
T a b l e 1
Survey of Practicing Nurses (N = 192)
Issue No. (%)
Use computers at work
Daily or almost daily 164 (85)
Every few days, weekly, or less 25 (13)
Do not use computers at work 3 (2)
Work use of computers
E-mail 135 (74)
Patient records 134 (70)
World Wide Web (WWW) 127 (66)
Create documents 125 (65)
Web access
At home 161 (84)
At work 169 (88)
No access 10 (5)
12. To award CEUs and track data required by the funding
organization, the enrollment process included establish-
ing a user account and completing a questionnaire. For
the user account, nurses provided names and RN license
numbers and then selected a personal username. These
were submitted to the project coordinator, who sent back
a password (as seen in Figure 1). The nurse then com-
pleted the demographic questionnaire. Items on the
questionnaire satisfied the data-reporting requirements
of the funding agency, with project staff adding items to
describe the participants in more detail. Once both these
processes were completed, the RN could begin taking the
tutorials. It is important to note that nurses’ names,
license numbers, passwords, and user names were never
associated with their demographic data; each user was
given a unique identification number. The information
from the demographic questionnaire was imported into
an Excel spreadsheet along with a user ID number. As
users completed the tutorials, that information was also
added to their ‘‘account.’’
Establishing a user account was originally a two-step
process, as described above, that involved the project
coordinator and prohibited the participant from enroll-
ing and completing a tutorial on the initial visit to the
NIC site. Many participants failed to return to the Web
site after the initial enrollment session. Project staff
changed the process to instant registration by allowing
participants to create both a personal username and
password. After completing the demographic survey,
they could begin viewing tutorials immediately. This
proved successful in encouraging nurses to participate
in the online continuing education modules.
The Tutorial Delivery Process
14. The streaming tutorials were designed so that the par-
ticipant advanced each slide by clicking on an arrow at
the bottom of the screen. The participant could hear
and watch the same slide multiple times, revert to an
earlier slide, or move forward. Also, using the navigation
bar that appeared on each slide, the participant could
move freely among the subsections of each tutorial.
Tutorial Design
While the Web site was under construction, the NIC
convened repeatedly to help the project staff delineate
content for each of the tutorials proposed in the grant
application. The community partners saw the tutorials
as a means to convey basic knowledge about comput-
ers, hardware, software, e-mail, nursing informatics,
and patient privacy that would serve as background
knowledge for their nurses who would be taught more
specific information at each of the local institutions,
none of which used the same software for their com-
puterized systems. A list of the tutorials designed is
found in Table 2. Each tutorial contained content that
could be completed in a minimum of 30 minutes if
the participant did not repeat any slides. At the end of
each tutorial, there was a printable reference list, in-
cluding articles, books, and Web sites; a printable out-
line of the content; a quiz with feedback about the
answers; and a CEU certificate printable upon comple-
tion of the quiz. Recognizing the need for repetition of
slides and audio, exploration of the reference list, and
completion of the quiz, each tutorial awarded two
contact hours. One CEU was awarded for each 10
15. contact hours; thus, participants earned one CEU for
every five completed tutorials.
Once the content of each tutorial was outlined, the
details of the slide design were discussed by project
staff. Once again, the fact that some nurses would
use dial-up Internet connections had to be considered;
thus, the tutorials could not include as many graphics
as originally planned. The final template included a
navigation bar, which displayed the NIC logo, the name
of the various tutorial subsections, the quiz (Questions),
and a Close button, along the left side of each slide
(Figure 2). The remaining three quarters of each screen
comprised the PowerPoint slide, with a bar along the
bottom showing the progress of the audio and providing
the control for moving forward or backward among the
slides. The slides had a white background, with bullet
points, underlining, and three variations in font color
(blue, green, and red) to emphasize conent. Graphics
were incorporated when appropriate, with arrows
pointing to specific aspects. As seen in Figure 2, the
description of a central processing unit (CPU) included
a graphic of the back of a CPU and one slide for each
part discussed in the tutorial, with an arrow pointing to
the exact part. As the audio described a specific part,
such as the USB port, only the label for the USB port
and a red arrow pointing to its location appear. The
words on each slide were kept to a minimum, while the
audio supplied additional information.
Initial Evaluation of the Tutorials
The first two tutorials were previewed by the NIC
members, who approved the design, content, and the
decision to empower the participant to advance or
repeat slides. Because of NIC member time constraints,
16. their reviews were limited in scope. The project staff, as
faculty members at a university, turned to students for
detailed feedback.
Thirty-five graduate nursing students enrolled in a
nursing informatics course taught by a member of the
project staff were asked to critique the tutorials as a
course assignment for which they received credit. The
university’s Institutional Review Board approved the
tool used to critique the tutorials along with the survey
of practicing nurses and employers as a research study,
with permission to analyze data and publish the
findings. The graduate students ranged in computer
competence from novice to experienced user. A Likert
scale was used to rate the Web site and its ease of use,
the tutorials’ ease of use, and the content of each
tutorial. Table 3 lists the graduate student responses to
some of the evaluation items about the Web site and
T a b l e 2
Tutorials
Informatics
Introduction to nursing informatics
Brief history of computers in healthcare
Informatics applications to nursing
Nursing informatics competencies
Basic computing
A short history of the computer
Hardware and peripheral devices
Input/output devices
18. these online tutorials to other nurses.
Project staff reviewed the student evaluations,
made revisions to the Web site, and improved the
process of tutorial design. The importance of a smooth,
fast initial enrollment phase became apparent. The
comments of the graduate nursing students contributed
to the revision of the enrollment process from a two-
step to an instantaneous process. Users reported satis-
faction with the fonts, colors, and graphics yet were less
satisfied with information about the projected comple-
tion time for each tutorial and the number of contact
hours associated with each. As a result, more detailed
information about the project, tutorials, and contact
hours was provided on the Web site. Review of the
feedback about the quality of the content of specific
tutorials alerted project staff to the importance of
collegial review of the rough draft of each tutorial.
Thereafter, the staff more carefully scrutinized each
other’s work for adherence to the slide template, use
of similar vocabulary words, provision of too much or
too little detail, and the logical sequence of content.
Marketing
The NIC convened repeatedly to discuss the market-
ing plan for the tutorials; each community member
was to oversee marketing to his or her staff. Members
from the healthcare systems informed staff of the avail-
ability of the tutorials through organizational e-mail
FIGURE 2. Sample Slide.
T a b l e 3
19. Evaluation of Tutorials by Graduate Nursing
Students (N = 35)
Issue No. (%)
Connection and loading
Used a dial-up modem 11 (31)
Used a broadband connection 16 (46)
Was able to open Web site easily 25 (71)
Liked the look of the Web site 31 (91)
Found the Web site engaging and friendly 31 (91)
Found the Web site font easy to read 33 (94)
Navigating the Web site
Was able to find information on the
Web site easily
24 (68)
Completed the demographic survey
without difficulty
30 (86)
Knew where they were and where they
should go next
29 (83)
Knew in advance how long each tutorial
would take to complete
19 (57)
21. project staff to a mandatory school nurse meeting of
one large school district, where a short presentation
was given followed by the distribution of flyers that
included the URL of the NIC Web site and directions
for enrolling. To reach school nurses employed by
smaller districts, one project staff member identified
listserv managers for each of those districts who sent
e-mail messages about the project to all of their nurses.
Community health nurses were informed during their
regularly scheduled staff meetings, at which they too
received flyers.
Enrollment was heavy at first, with school nurses
who had received a live presentation about the tutorials
responding in the highest numbers. Potential partici-
pants notified by their employer but without contact
with project staff or by e-mail responded in much lower
numbers. Early users often encountered problems. The
enrollment process did not always work well. Some
nurses using computers at work were blocked by
firewalls; others could not download RealPlayer, which
prevented streaming tutorials. Project staff responded
to each problem as quickly as possible and sent e-mails
to the users with instructions on how to proceed. The
enrollment problems were resolved quickly, but the
conversion from RealPlayer to HTML took longer.
During this time, potential students were lost. Even
after work-associated problems were solved, most
participants worked from home computers, on which
learners experienced fewer problems and could spend
as much uninterrupted time as needed.
Project staff sent out e-mail messages to all users who
were enrolled as problems connecting to the streaming
tutorials were fixed and as new tutorials were made
22. available. Further attempts at local marketing were
done via e-mail. In a final effort to bolster enrollment
T a b l e 4
Critique of Individual Tutorials
No. (%)
Most frequently completed tutorials
Introduction to nursing informatics 20 (57)
A short history of the computer 19 (54)
Hardware and peripheral devices 18 (51)
Brief history of computers in healthcare 17 (49)
Informatics applications to nursing, input/output devices, and
working with software and files 16 (46)
Nursing informatics competencies, basic user skills 15 (43)
n*(n =35) No.y (%)
Tutorials with the highest ratings
Best in organization and at meeting objectives
Organizational e-mail 13 7 (64)
Working with e-mail 11 8 (62)
Best in breadth
Input/Output devices 16 13 (81)
Most helpful
Working with e-mail 11 7 (54)
Increased participant knowledge the most
Nursing informatics competencies 15 7 (47)
24. figures, project staff marketed the tutorials to nurses
throughout California using e-mail.
By the end of the funded period, 474 practicing
RNs enrolled in the NIC project, with 52% (246) of
them completing at least one tutorial. Of this sub-
set, 42% (68) of school nurses, 30% (58) of commu-
nity health nurses, and 2.6% (107) of hospital nurses
from the original target audience of 8210 practicing
RNs employed in the two counties participated in the
program.
EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT
From the survey of practicing nurses conducted during
the planning phase, project staff learned that 83% of
the 192 responding nurses were interested in taking
classes to improve their computer skills and 87% were
open to an asynchronous online format. Thus, from a
base of 8210 nurses employed locally, the staff expected
more than 474 enrollees for these tutorials awarding
free CEUs. School nurses who were reached through a
combination of live and electronic marketing strategies
had the highest participation rates. Project staff and
NIC members concluded that a combination of mar-
keting strategies was appropriate, especially for a new
program.
In the same survey, 78% of the respondents indicated
that they wanted a live workshop to learn how to use
the Internet to participate in the online learning.
However, the project never implemented a live intro-
ductory workshop to help participants navigate the
tutorials. This, along with enrollment and RealPlayer
problems, undoubtedly contributed to the disappointing
rate of tutorial completion by enrollees. Project staff
25. and NIC members agreed that there was generally only
one opportunity to reach the prospective participants.
All aspects of the online education program, from
enrollment to streaming of tutorials and printable
certificates, had to work flawlessly, or prospective par-
ticipants would not return to complete the tutorials.
Because there were few complaints about downloading
graphics once the initial technical problems were
resolved, the staff felt that the time and effort spent
planning slides with a minimum of graphics and testing
tutorials from remote computers using dial-up modems
had been well spent.
When the number of completed tutorials was cate-
gorized, the participation rates were the following:
none, 48% (226); one to six tutorials, 31% (147);
seven to 12 tutorials, 9% (40); and 13 to 18 tutorials,
13% (59). Nurses of all ages, years of work experience,
ethnicity, practice settings, and computer capability
completed the online tutorials. Those aged 20 to 29
years (18%), those with 15 to 20 years of work ex-
perience (16%), Hispanic nurses (22%), school nurses
(16%), those working part-time (18%), and nurses
with or studying for a master’s degree (17%) were the
most likely to complete between 13 and 18 tutorials.
However, significant differences in the number of tuto-
rials completed among groups were not found, indicat-
ing that nurses were similarly disposed to participate
in online education regardless of their demographic or
employment characteristics.
While the tutorial content ranged from the simple
(how a computer works) to the complex (nursing
informatics), some of the most popular tutorials were
the more complex ones. The graduate student evalua-
26. tors most often completed one of the nursing infor-
matics tutorials, and when participants rated tutorials
from which they had learned the most, two of the
informatics tutorials were on the list. Asynchronous
online tutorials were an appropriate modality for con-
veying some rather high-level knowledge in addition
to more basic information about computers.
CONCLUSION
Asynchronous online tutorials that include carefully
crafted slides accompanied by audio is a very effective
way to teach nurses online, yet the creation of stream-
ing tutorials is a complex task that includes technical
considerations and adult learning strategies. The NIC
nursing members, although involved in the computer-
ization of their healthcare systems, were unaware of
the technical barriers that their system intranets of-
fered. Information technology personnel from each
participating organization should have been involved
in the design process from its inception.
Each aspect of tutorial creation involves a different
set of skills. It is important to assemble a team with
members fluent in various aspects of the process, such
as content expertise and technical expertise, including
knowing how to save and stream tutorials, capture
screen shots, insert annotations, record and edit audio,
and synchronize audio with PowerPoint slides. Recent
innovations in software applications that automate
these technical functions will make it easier to create
online tutorials in the future.
Project staff and NIC members agreed that there was
one initial opportunity to attract nurses to online
learning; if the program did not operate smoothly or
28. This project would not have been possible without
the significant contributions of Barbara Lefkarites and
Kanako Sturgis. The authors also thank all of the mem-
bers of the Nursing Informatics Community, who gave
so generously of their time and expertise.
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13. Schmitt MB, Titler MG, Herr KA, Ardery G. Challenges of
Web-
based education in educating nurses about evidence-based acute
pain management practices for older adults. J Contin Educ Nurs.
2004;35(3):121–127.
14. Atack L, Rankin J. Nurses’ experiences with Web-based
learning.
Can Nurse. 2002;98(7):18–22.
15. Curran-Smith J, Best S. An experience with an online
learning
environment to support a change in practice in an emergency
department. Comput Inform Nurs. 2004;22(2):107–110.
16. Kozlowski D. Factors for consideration in the development
and
implementation of an online RN-BSN course. Comput Inform
Nurs. 2004;22(1):34–43.
17. Renner AL. Implementing Web-enabled teaching tools.
Comput
Inform Nurs. 2004;22(1):50–51.
18. Phillips JM. Strategies for active learning in online
continuing
education. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2005;36(2):77–83.
19. Thurmond VA. Defining interaction and strategies to
enhance
interactions in Web-based courses. Nurse Educ. 2003;28(5):
237–241.
32. by an ambitious nature. Dara Khosrowshahi is the current CEO
of Uber, who helped the company recover from the previous
scandals created by the former CEO.
Leader Effectiveness of Elon Musk and Dara Khosrowshai
The management system of the organization highly determines
the success of an organization. Leaders should be competent in
all areas to ensure that any business company produces positive
outcomes; it is, therefore, essential for an organization should
to have effective leaders. Effective leaders are people who have
passion for a dream that is greater than what they can achieve
but still believe in their vision and work towards fulfilling their
goals to better the community (Roka, 2018).
Elon Musk is an effective leader because he always believes in
his visions, and no matter how insanely they seem, he still
believes that he will accomplish them. An example that shows
Elon Musk does not wing his ideas is when an interviewer asked
him when he thinks the first human will set foot on Mars, and
he gave a direct specific answer 2025. He believes that a
business plan should always accompany goals; otherwise, they
can be considered unrealistic (Wild, 2016). Elon Musk’s ideas
still have realistic business strategies for example when they
wanted to build the first electronic car, they knew that that
could be very expensive and therefore they planned to start with
a high-end vehicle for the wealthy which had to be pre-ordered
before creation. He is a person who understands that leadership
entails learning new things every day. He reads for ten hours
every day, and that’s why he built the knowledge of rocket
science.
Dara Khosrowshai is an effective leader because he always
emphasizes on the need to keep the Uber Company innovative
always. Creativity is still the key to success in the business
world. He explains how organizing his team in different units
that do their own thing can help them remain entrepreneurial.
He, however, explains how keeping the company innovative is
challenging and how breaking up the company helps them
maintain creativity. He describes how managing employees and
33. creating a company culture is essential. He describes his core
culture as one that values and trust employees to perform the
right tasks. Trusting his employees has contributed to the
success of the Uber Company. Dara believes in his employees
and encourages them whenever things seem hard, in 2008, when
they had a significant loss, he helped his employees to forge
ahead and not to look back. And with excellent teamwork and
innovative minds, they were able to bring the Uber Company
back to light.
Increasing Motivation
Motivation is fundamental in the business world. Lack of
motivation makes employees produce mediocre outcomes. It is
crucial for leaders always to consider motivating their
employees to ensure there are consistent successful outcomes.
Elon Musk motivates his employees by encouraging them to
believe in their dreams and to work towards ensuring they
accomplish their goals. He believed in himself and his
employees, and that is why the electric car Motor Company is as
successful as it is currently. Elon Musk motivates his employees
through acting as a role model as far as increasing his
knowledge is concerned. He has a habit of reading books, which
makes his dreams achievable (Gray, 2016). His employees
learn from him and work towards improving the Company.
Musk is known to very inspiring; he always wants to work on
things that inspire human existence. He believes that motivating
his employees will have the capability of increasing the chances
of the Company’s success.
Dara Khosrowshahi motivates his organization by encouraging
employees to be ambitious always. He has an encouraging
nature and encourages employees not to give up during stressful
times, and he says that as a leader, it is always important to
always go against the flow. He talks about the importance of
showing employees that things will work well even if they seem
impossible, such encouragements keep employees motivated to
work hard and prevents them from shying away from
challenges. He encourages employees to come up with new
34. ideas and use the ideas to better the Company without having to
consult him. Such acts make employees feel appreciated and
keep them motivated (Cook, Patel, & O’Rourke IV, 2019).
How Elon Musk and Dara Khosrowshahi will be Remembered in
Business History
Leaders need to impact positively on people’s lives because that
makes people remember them for many years to come.
Elon Musk will be remembered because of his confidence in his
work. He believes that everything is achievable. His work is
inspirational and makes people know that everything is
possible. When he achieves the goals of sending people to mars
and increasing power stations for the electric vehicles, a lot of
people will remember his bold move and the aspect of believing
in his dreams (Schilling, 2017).
Dara Khosrowshahi will be remembered because of how he
saved the Uber Company, which had experienced severe loss in
2008 (Basu, 2019). He encouraged the employees to be
innovative, and through steadily appreciating their performance,
they were able to bring the company back to success levels. He
will be remembered for creating a brilliant Company Culture
that makes employees feel valued and appreciated.
Communicating with Support Ideas
Communication is a very important and critical factor in the
success of any business organization. Proper communication
keeps the business going, and it helps leaders and employees
understand each other.
Elon Musk communicates to his employees directly. He
discourages the chain of command where communication has to
follow a particular channel (Strielkowski, & Chigisheva, 2018).
He explains how excellent communication in Companies is
critical and how first communication should be to prevent
delays in relaying important information that may require
instant action.
Dara Khosrowshahi communicates directly with his employees
because he believes in building trust between him and his
employees. Communicating directly with his employees helps
35. solve problems efficiently and carefully.
The Techniques for Problem-solving, Generating
Solution
s and Decision Making
Avoiding Problems in the business environment entails
employing problem-solving techniques should always be
adapted to prevent a repeat of the same issues in the future.
Elon Musk approached problem-solving through three simple
steps which are, identifying and defining assumptions of the
problem, break down the problem into fundamental principles,
and creating solution s from scratch.
Dara Khosrowshahi approached problem-solving through the
use of a systematic process that helps create solutions. In 2008,
when Uber faced the most significant loss, he identified the
problem and the magnitude and came up with solutions through
the help of his employees. After creating an innovative mindset
in the minds of his employees, he was able to save Uber (Spott,
2018).
Summary and Conclusions
Excellent leadership skills help organizations stand out.
Effective leaders are always continually looking for ways to
increase their knowledge, respect, and motivate their
employees, among others. Team-building techniques are vital
36. because they include everyone in the decision making processes
that contribute to the success of organizations. Leaders should
also humble themselves and learn from their employees.
Communication in business activities is very crucial; when the
flow of information is constant in an organization, decision-
making processes get easier. Effective leaders provide
employees with achievable goals that prevent them from
wasting a lot of energy on unachievable goals. Elon Musk and
Dara Khosrowshahi are great leaders who appreciate the work
of their employees and guides them in all activities.
References
Basu, A. (2019). Viability assessment of emerging smart urban
para-transit solutions: Case of cab aggregators in Kolkata city,
India. Journal of Urban Management.
Cook, J., Patel, R., & O’Rourke IV, J. S. (2019). Uber
Technologies, Inc.: Accountability in corporate culture. Journal
of Organizational Behavior, 11, 33-50.
Gray, K. (2016). An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, by
Chris Hadfield Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a
Fantastic Future, by Ashlee Vance: New York, NY: Back Bay
37. Books, 2015, 320 pp. ISBN-13: 978-0-316-25303-1.
17.00paperbackNewYork,NY:HarperCollins,2015,400pages.ISB
N-13:978-0-06-230123-9. 28.99 hardcover.
Roka, P. (2018). Bhagavad Gita on effective leadership:
Timeless wisdom for leaders. Jaico Publishing House.
Schilling, M. A. (2017). The cognitive foundations of visionary
strategy. Strategy Science, 3(1), 335-342.
Spott, P. (2018). UBER: A Case Study in Strategy, Leadership,
and Change (Doctoral dissertation, The College of St.
Scholastica).
Strielkowski, W., & Chigisheva, O. (2018). Social, economic,
and academic leadership for sustainable development of
business and education in the future: an introduction.
In Leadership for the Future Sustainable Development of
Business and Education (pp. 3-8). Springer, Cham.
Wild, N. (2016). Current leadership development practices: a
GE example.
RUNNING HEAD:CROWDSOURCING: THREADLESS AND
CHALLENGEPOST
38. CROWDSOURCING: THREADLESS AND CHALLENGEPOST
7
Business organizations often strive and work hard to establish
themselves ahead of others in the industry and command various
activities in the industry. However, to become a leader in the
market, effective and strategic planning is required. Business
firms, therefore, tend to use various strategies in developing a
proper relationship with customers and consequently extending
their floors of operations. Use of the internet is one of the most
outstanding avenues through which firms develop strong
stability in the market. Crowdsourcing is thus one of the
internet avenues through which business information, data, and
opinion are collected. Crowdsourcing involves obtaining,
information, opinions or work from a large group of people who
39. submit data through the internet, smartphone Apps or social
media. It is, therefore, the practice of sourcing for information
into a task or project through enlisting the services of a large
group of people either unpaid or paid through the internet
(Brabham, 2013). This study, therefore, intends to offer a
comprehensive discussion on Threadless. It will explain the
success behind threadless, competitive advantages it accrues to
companies and logic behind crowdsourcing. It will further
identify various business functions that can gain a massive
breakthrough via the application of crowdsourcing.
Threadless is an online community of artists and consequently
an e-commerce website. Designs are threadless are created by
and consequently chosen by an online community. Threadless
built its business through a crowdsourcing model. It has,
however, acquired a lot of success since its inception. Effective
use of crowdsourcing is, however, the main reason behind the
success of crowdsourcing (Howe, 2006). Through
crowdsourcing model, Threadless has been able to put some
defined work out to a community and allow the community
members to compete to win the project. The power of
crowdsourcing is thus the pillar behind the success of
Threadless.
Developing a competitive advantage over other companies in
the industry is an imperative step. Companies with competitive
advantages often enjoy economies of scale, thus making a lot of
40. profit (Lane, 2010). Threadless enjoys numerous competitive
advantages over its peers in the design industry. Threadless
draws attention to its community - centered business model. It
depends heavily on its community to the point where we cannot
imagine its product apart from the community. The community
is, therefore, threadless' main competitive advantage
(Michelson, 2010). Integration of customers across the value
chain is another competitive advantage the business enjoys.
Moreover, Threadless has a strong and established preparation
and execution process of its goals as well as the strategic plan
(Estellés-Arolas & González-Ladrón-De-Guevara, 2012).
Unlike comparable design firms that use traditional strategies,
Threadless deploys the use of crowdsourcing in collecting data
and information about what the customers need hence acting
upon the particular needs to improve the quality of services they
offer. Through the community, Threadless can acquire rich
information about their clients as well as other market
information. Other competitive advantages that Threadless
enjoys include; use of gamification. Through gamification,
Threadless can engage the community hence creating a spirit of
competition among artists who consequently use social media to
reach more customers (Lane, 2010). Giving back to the
community and use of social media direct traffic to the website
are other competitive advantages. Threadless shifts its attention
to the artists rather than the product is thereby positioning the
41. organization as a platform more than merely a brand. People,
therefore, view Threadless as a platform that supports artists
hence a competitive advantage (Horton, & Chilton, 2010).
Crowdsourcing has stood out in the current generation as a
massive force behind the success of many businesses. The logic
behind the model has therefore caught the eyes people,
especially in the business world. The rationale of
crowdsourcing, however, is co-creation (Michelson, 2010).
Through the logic of co-creation, the organization, which sums
up as the source provides instructions as well as incentives to
the community, otherwise called the "crowd" to solve specific
challenges. The organization is, therefore, able to solve
different problems and challenges by offering incentives and
instructions to the community. Through the co-creation logic,
many fields have been able to get a breakthrough via
application of crowdsourcing (Lane, 2010). Outsourcing of
tasks has, therefore, been made easier through the co-creation
mechanism. Identification and solutions to complex issues,
generation of profitable ideas, money saving for companies and
feedback reception are among the several areas that have greatly
seen the lights of crowdsourcing (Doan, Ramakrishnan, &
Halevy, 2011). Crowdsourcing has therefore attracted interest
from different quotas in the business world due to its
outstanding solutions.
Despite its wide use and unending advantages, crowdsourcing,
42. just like other tools introducing by the internet has numerous
gaps and limitations that should be addressed effectively by
current and potential users of the model. The most pronounced
limitation of crowdsourcing is compromised confidentiality
(Lane, 2010). Testing in crowdsourcing is performed by a large
group of people. Some people within the large group
performing the testing may not have loyalty to the brand or
product. Crowdsourcing, therefore, permits competitors to get
access to confidential information and secrets of an
organization, thus not confidentiality (Michelson, 2010). The
gap of confidentiality is therefore wide with crowdsourcing.
Difficulty in Communication between testers is another
challenging facing people using crowdsourcing due to both
language barrier and time constraints (Michelson, 2010). Test
coverage is another challenge that accompanies the use of
crowdsourcing. More managerial oversight is often required to
guarantee test coverage through bug identification. It is,
therefore difficult to ensure testing of entire products to ensure
usability (Horton, & Chilton, 2010). It is thus imperative for
users of the model to have a full understanding of the
challenges, gaps, and limitations of crowdsourcing to reduce its
disadvantages.
Besides design, crowdsourcing has a wide range of use in both
business functions and other businesses. Healthcare is one of
the businesses that heavily use crowdsourcing in its functions.
43. Healthcare organizations deploy crowdsourcing in getting
information, views, and ideas of people regarding their services
(Behrend, Sharek, Meade, & Wiebe, 2011). Moreover, it uses
crowdsourcing in conducting medical research (Lane, 2010).
Through crowdsourcing, views and ideas can be collected hence
promoting medical research. Innovation is another imperative
business function commonly done through crowdsourcing.
Many business organizations tend to use the model in getting
ideas of people hence using such ideas in creating new things
hence innovation.
In conclusion, it is right to infer that the huge success
celebrated by Threadless is attributed to its effective use of
crowdsourcing. The model has enabled threadless to acquire a
lot of customers and competitive advantages over its peer in the
design industry. It is, however, imperative to underscore various
limitations and gaps experienced by business firms using
crowdsourcing. The model has numerous advantages, albeit with
notable limitation. Care should thus be taken to ensure the
limitations do not overrule the benefits. Healthcare facilities
have also benefited from the use of crowdsourcing.
References
Brabham, D. C. (2013). Crowdsourcing. MIT Press.
Behrend, T. S., Sharek, D. J., Meade, A. W., & Wiebe, E. N.
(2011). The viability of crowdsourcing for survey
research. Behavior research methods, 43(3), 800.
44. Doan, A., Ramakrishnan, R., & Halevy, A. Y. (2011).
Crowdsourcing systems on the world-wide-
web. Communications of the ACM, 54(4), 86-96.
Estellés-Arolas, E., & González-Ladrón-De-Guevara, F. (2012).
Towards an integratedcrowdsourcing definition. Journal of
Information science, 38(2), 189-200.
Horton, J. J., & Chilton, L. B. (2010, June). The labor
economics of paid crowdsourcing. In Proceedings of the 11th
ACM conference on Electronic commerce (pp. 209-218). ACM.
Howe, J. (2006). The rise of crowdsourcing. Wired
magazine, 14(6), 1-4.
Lane, S. (2010). Collective intelligence for competitive
advantage: crowdsourcing and open innovation.
Michelson, G. K. (2010). U.S. Patent No. 7,704,255.
Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
PROFESSIONAL ASSIGNMENT 26
45. PA 2 – Team Concepts
Many cherish the success of a team. However, achieving this
success is often not easy. It encompasses numerous challenges.
It is therefore important for team leaders to instill virtues and
elements of effective team worm into members to enable the
team to succeed. The team concept presented in the case study
is the concept of synergy; achieving success in a team does not
depend on the talents possessed by members but instead their
readiness to work as a team and accomplish the goals jointly.
Teams should thus be built on effective team elements.
Team Characteristics That Can Sink Talented Individuals
Teams often fail due to lack of effective and efficient
communication. Communication plays a vital role in ensuring
that the mission and visions of a team are met . Other elements
46. that led to the poor performance of the talented individuals
include; lack of enthusiasm, selfishness amongst members of
the team, lack of vision and commitment as well as poor level
of adaptability (West, 2012). Lack of the above factors is
directly responsible for the failure of the team of talented
members.
Factors Contributing to Victory for Less Talented Teams
A number of factors are responsible for the success of the team
of rowers. The main factors that account to the celebrated
success include; Adaptability, selflessness, enthusiasm,
communication, vision, and commitment (Salas, Cooke, &
Rosen, 2008). Members of the team must be highly adaptable to
different situations and environments and as such, they will face
little challenges along the way (Hall, 2005). This could have
been an element that was missing in the talented rowers in the
Coach Preczewski case. The rowers may have felt that they
were too good and as such, they trusted on their knowledge
rather than adapt to varying changes in the waters.
Secondly, effective communication coupled with selflessness
and enthusiasm from members is other factors responsible for
the success. The talented rowers may have been consumed in
each of their blind ambition to succeed that they forgot that a
team succeeds because of talent, coupled with a hint of
enthusiasm.
Coach Preczewski’s Choices
47. Coach Preczewski proved to the world that teamwork does not
entirely depend on the ability, quality, and skills of team
members, but rather the dedication and teamwork put by
members. Yes, I would allocate rowers to the boat the same way
he did. However, I would mix experienced and less experienced
members of a team to achieve the best results. This method
ensures that the team has the guidance and technical support it
requires. Another option is using less qualified but with a
qualified and experienced leader.
When the Best is Not the Best
A game of football requires a high level of teamwork. Football
teams with talented individuals but low team participation often
record poor results than teams with untalented individuals but
with high levels of team spirit and effective communication.
This was well demonstrated in the World Cup series; some
teams such as Germany had very highly talented individuals but
did not succeed as anticipated while Croatia beat the odds to
make it to the finals. This is a clear indicator that teamwork is
better than a collection of talented players.
The “Right” People
The success of a team does not depend solely on having the best
performers. Having the best performers with poor coordination
and communication in a group often results into a failure
(Xyrichis, & Ream, 2008). However, having the right people
doing the right things within a team spirit results in a huge
48. success (Burke, & Dalrymple, 2000). Brooks’ success was
therefore prompted by having people ready to work together for
a common goal as a team and not as individuals. His sentiment,
therefore, means that having the people with the right team
spirit is better than qualified people who work in a team as
individuals. The success of a team, therefore, depends on the
dedication and commitment of members rather than their
personal skills and abilities.
Variables for Team Success
Every single team yearns for success and achievement of its
goals. However, the path to the success of a team is marred by
different challenges. It is therefore imperative for teams to
establish themselves towards the path of success (Salas, Sims,
& Burke, 2005). The most important elements and variables
vital in the success of a team are; trust, communication,
effective leadership, focus on common goals, and accountability
for each member (McShane & Von Glinow, 2013). Trust
amongst team members encourages team building and
responsibility amongst members. Each member, therefore,
works hard to achieve the set goals. Effective communication is
another imperative variable that ensures that information is
shared amongst group members in the most appropriate manner
hence success (Baldwin, Bommer & Rubin, 2013). The above
elements are thus critical in the success of a team.
49. Summary and Conclusions
The success of a team is determined by various factors that
contribute to the effective cooperation of members. Groups with
less talented individuals displaying effective teamwork can,
therefore, outmatch teams with highly talented members
working as individuals. It is, therefore, imperative to build a
team based on the elements vital for a team’s success.
References
Baldwin, T., Bommer, B., & Rubin, R. (2013). Managing
organizational behavior: What great managers know and do (2nd
ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Burke, B., & Dalrymple, J. (2000). Teamwork in multi-
professional care. Palgrave Macmillan.
Hall, P. (2005). Interprofessional teamwork: Professional
cultures as barriers. Journal of Interprofessional care, 19(sup1),
188-196.
McShane, S., & Von Glinow, M. (2013). Organizational
behavior (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Salas, E., Sims, D. E., & Burke, C. S. (2005). Is there a “big
five” in teamwork?. Small group research, 36(5), 555-599.
Salas, E., Cooke, N. J., & Rosen, M. A. (2008). On teams,
teamwork, and team performance: Discoveries and
developments. Human factors, 50(3), 540-547.
50. West, M. A. (2012). Effective teamwork: practical lessons from
organizational research. John Wiley & Sons.
Xyrichis, A., & Ream, E. (2008). Teamwork: a concept
analysis. Journal of advanced nursing, 61(2), 232-241.
Week 8 CLA 2 Assignment Reference
CLA 2 Comprehensive Learning Assessment 2 – CLO 5, CLO 6,
CLO 7
Write an 10- 12 page APA formatted paper that explains the
following:
(1) three to four important concepts you have learned
throughout this seven-week course;
(2) identify the two to three concepts you would like to apply to
your work setting and how you will go about implementing
51. them;
(3) identify the key elements of your plan to strengthen your
practice of leadership.
CLA 2 measures the student's competency and mastery of the
course concepts, particularly the application of those concepts.
Your CLA2 submission (cumulative report) should be 10to 12
pages in length. The CLA assignments encompass the learning
objectives for this course and are designed to increase your
comprehension and augment your ability to apply concepts
learned in your professional careers. Subsequently, in addition
to your report, please prepare a professional PowerPoint
presentation summarizing your findings for CLA1 and CLA2.
The presentation will consist of your major findings, analysis,
and recommendations in a concise 10-12 slide presentation. You
should use content from your report at material for your
PowerPoint presentation.
*Please refer to the Grading Criteria for Comprehensive
Learning Assessments (CLAs) on page 11-12 of the syllabus for
specific guidelines and expectations.
52. CLA2 Comprehensive Learning Assessment (CLA 2)
Presentation
In addition to your CLA2 report, please prepare a professional
PowerPoint presentation summarizing your findings for CLA2.
The presentation will consist of your major findings, analysis,
and recommendations in a concise presentation of 18 slides
(minimum). You should use content from your CLA2 report as
material for your PowerPoint presentation. In addition, you
should include learning outcomes from all your major
assignments. This would include PA1, CLA1, PA2, and of
course, CLA2 (unless otherwise specified by your Professor).
An agenda, executive summary, and references slides should
also be included. Please keep in mind that the university is
moving towards a more digital footprint for our students. This
means that your final CLA2 presentation may be recorded, so
that you may include it in your “e-portfolio” (graduating
students should have all of their CLA2 presentations on a flash-
drive, in addition to student biography, resume, interests, etc.)
Students will present their PowerPoint during the last week of
class in either the On-Campus Class Session or the online
Virtual Class Session, as determined by the professor.
Presentations should not exceed 18 minutes.
*Please refer to the Grading Criteria for CLA2 Presentations on
53. page 11-12 of the syllabus for specific guidelines and
expectations.
Running head: CROWDSOURCING: THREADLESS AND
CHALLENGEPOST 1
CROWDSOURCING: THREADLESS AND CHALLENGEPOST
2
Crowdsourcing: Threadless and ChallengePost
Star Student
BUS 730: Management Strategy for Performance
David Johnson, Ph.D.
Month Date, Year
Crowdsourcing: Threadless and ChallengePostStar
Introduce material here… Remember, each case study must have
the heading listed below and must be answered according to
instructions; each heading is worth a percentage of each case
grade. This is how I want your paper turned in. Your audience
is someone like your roommate – intelligent, educated, but has
NO IDEA what the case study is about.
This is generally one paragraph. The easiest way to explain this
section is to think of it like an abstract or introduction. This
section, if written properly, can actually act as the abstract for
54. this paper. . It will, in a sense, set up the rest of the paper,
which is the review of the case, analysis, recommendations, and
the summary and conclusions sections. Remember that you got
this information from the textbook. Consequently, you should
cite Baldwin, Bommer, and Rubin (2013). You should NOT
write “According to the textbook” as your reader has NO IDEA
who or what is that.
If there is a second paragraph, it will look like this. The paper
should be written in third person narrative. I do not want to see
you writing in the first person. One other note: a business is an
“it,” not a “they.” Remember that when you use pronouns
describing a business.
The Success of Threadless
In this section, you will answer your question, “Why is
Threadless so successful?” Note: I do not want to see heading
written as questions or you asking questions within the paper.
The idea is to answer it in essay form.
The Competitive Advantage of Threadless
In this section, you will answer your question, “What
competitive advantages do they have over comparable design
firms using traditional strategies for product design?” Note: I
do not want to see heading written as questions or you asking
questions within the paper. The idea is to answer it in essay
form.
The Logic of Crowdsourcing
55. In this section, you will answer your question, “What is the
logic of crowdsourcing and why has it caught on in so many
areas and for so many applications?” Note: I do not want to see
heading written as questions or you asking questions within the
paper. The idea is to answer it in essay form.
Traps and Limitations of Crowdsourcing
In this section, you will answer your question, “What are some
potential traps and limitations of crowdsourcing efforts?” Note:
I do not want to see heading written as questions or you asking
questions within the paper. The idea is to answer it in essay
form.
Potential Beneficiaries of Crowdsourcing
In this section, you will answer your question, “Identify at least
two other businesses, or business functions, that you think could
achieve breakthrough gains via the use of crowdsourcing.”
Note: I do not want to see heading written as questions or you
asking questions within the paper. The idea is to answer it in
essay form.
Also, you must provide at least eight peer-reviewed references
and cite the references in the form of in-text citations in the
body of the paper (i.e., the textbook and eight additional peer-
reviewed sources). Again, when you reference material in your
paper, you must also have in-text citations in the body of the
paper for each reference. Remember, EVERY citation must
56. correspond to a reference and EVERY reference must
correspond to a citation. You CANNOT have one without the
other.
Summary and Conclusions
This section will tie together all sources used for this case
study, conclusions drawn from the reading and any
inconsistencies. This section will generally be one to two
paragraphs. Notice the paper has a continuous flow; there are no
page breaks between sections. The only page breaks occur
between the title page and the introduction and the
summary/conclusions and the reference page. All references for
the case study must appear on a separate page (see the following
page for an example).
References
This section will reference all original work cited throughout
the paper. The heading should appear at the top of the page and
all reference material should be listed below in alphabetical
order by first last name; also, the title for books is always in
italic format and in sentence form. In contrast to book
references, the title for articles is in sentence format, not in
italic, but the name of the publisher is in italic. See examples
below:
57. Baldwin, T., Bommer, B., & Rubin, R. (2013). Managing
organizational behavior: What great
managers know and do (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Barzani, R. S. (2014). Studying the effects of business
strategies on the organization's
performance in regards to human resources' policies at the
social security insurance
companies based. International Journal of Academic Research in
Business and Social
Sciences, 4(5), 549-561.
Chopra, M., Munro, S., Lavis, J. N., Vist, G., & Bennett, S.
(2008). Effects of policy options for
human resources for health: An analysis of systematic reviews.
The Lancet, 371(9613),
668-74.
Holt, D. (2016). Branding in the age of social media. Harvard
Business Review (online). Retrieved from:
58. https://hbr.org/2016/03/branding-in-the-age-of-social-media
McShane, S., & Von Glinow, M. (2013). Organizational
behavior (6th ed.).New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill
You must also provide a reference for all sources used to
support the case study. (Note: As a minimum, the textbook and
eight additional peer-reviewed sources will be used and
referenced.)
Running head: COMPARING AND CONTRASTING
LEADERSHIP STYLES 1
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING LEADERSHIP STYLES
3
Comparing and Contrasting Leadership Styles
Introduce material here… Remember, each case study must have
the heading listed below and must be answered according to
instructions; each heading is worth a percentage of each case
grade. This is how I want your paper turned in. Your audience
is someone like your roommate – intelligent, educated, but has
NO IDEA what the case study is about. Here you will give a
general overview of the two leaders you chose.
This is generally one paragraph or two. The easiest way to
explain this section is to think of it like an abstract or
introduction. This section, if written properly, can actually act
59. as the abstract for this paper. . It will, in a sense, set up the rest
of the paper, which is the review of the case, analysis,
recommendations, and the summary and conclusions sections.
Remember that you got this information from the textbook.
Consequently, you should cite Baldwin, Bommer, and Rubin
(2013). You should NOT write “According to the textbook” as
your reader has NO IDEA who or what is that.
If there is a second paragraph, it will look like this. The paper
should be written in third person narrative. I do not want to see
you writing in the first person. One other note: a business is an
“it,” not a “they.” Remember that when you use pronouns
describing a business.
Leader Effectiveness of ______ and ______
In this section, you will answer your question: What makes
them effective leaders? Note: I do not want to see heading
written as questions or you asking questions within the paper.
The idea is to answer it in essay form. Here you will describe
what make them BOTH effective (i.e., their commonalities). In
the following level 2 headings, you can be more specific for
each leader.
(Name of leader)
______ is an effective leader because… (make sure you support
your answer and do not just give your opinion)
(Name of leader)
60. ______ is an effective leader because… (make sure you support
your answer and do not just give your opinion).
Increasing Motivation
In this section, you will answer your question, “How do they
increase motivation within their organization?” Note: I do not
want to see heading written as questions or you asking
questions within the paper. The idea is to answer it in essay
form. Here you will describe what they BOTH do to increase
motivation (i.e., their commonalities). In the following level 2
headings, you can be more specific for each leader.
(Name of leader)
______ motivates in his/her organization by … (make sure you
support your answer and do not just give your opinion)
(Name of leader)
______ motivates in his/her organization by … (make sure you
support your answer and do not just give your opinion).
How ______ and ______ Will be Remembered in Business
History
In this section, you will answer your question, “How will they
be remembered in business history?” Note: I do not want to see
heading written as questions or you asking questions within the
paper. The idea is to answer it in essay form. In a sentence or
two describe what you will cover for both leaders.
(Name of leader)
61. ______ will be remembered because… (make sure you support
your answer and do not just give your opinion)
(Name of leader)
______ will be remembered because… (make sure you support
your answer and do not just give your opinion).
Communicating to Support Ideas
In this section, you will answer your question, “How did they
use their communication skills to gain support for their ideas?”
Note: I do not want to see heading written as questions or you
asking questions within the paper. The idea is to answer it in
essay form. Here you will describe their commonalities in their
communication styles. In the following level 2 headings, you
can be more specific for each leader.
(Name of leader)
______ communicated by…… (make sure you support your
answer and do not just give your opinion)
(Name of leader)
______ communicated by…… (make sure you support your
answer and do not just give your opinion).
Techniques for Problem-Solving, Generating
