Entrepreneurship Current Event Paper
ECN 1015
Introduction to Business in a Market Economy
This short (2-3 page) paper is intended to keep you up-to-date on current entrepreneurship and small business management happenings and issues occurring both domestically and internationally. Please utilize current articles as they will allow you to most directly apply your knowledge to what is happening outside the classroom in the “here and now”.
- Select and read a current article on entrepreneurship and/or small business management from any number of business periodicals, to include Business Week, Fortune, The Economist, Newsweek or from a newspaper, such as The Wall Street Journal, the business section of the Washington Post or Baltimore Sun. An article can also be selected from a reputable news source on the Internet, such as CNN.com.
Include a copy of the article with your written report or a URL to the article on the Internet.
- Following an introductory paragraph introducing the article and its main theme, provide a brief and concise summation of the article. The summation will be an outline of the major issues presented. Depending on your article, the summation should be between 2-3 paragraphs in length.[unique_solution]
III. Next, perform an analysis of how the business topics presented in the article relates to class discussions and/or topics covered in your textbook. Your ability to analyze and synthesize the information presented in the article is critical. Without a well done analysis, you cannot earn higher than a “C” grade. Your analysis should be approximately 2-3 paragraphs as well.
For example, here is a start to the analysis section:
“In presenting the different forms of business ownership popular in China today, Smith (2016) in her Business Week article entitled “Roaring China” illustrates how China is moving towards a more capitalistic society and one focused on promoting entrepreneurship among its citizens. This article assisted in expanding upon the role of the entrepreneur in society as presented in Chapter 5 of the text as well as outlined various forms of business ownership as was discussed in class and in Chapter 4. It also explored the various economic systems in the world today as illustrated in Chapter 1 in our discussion of economics.”
You would then go on to explain in more detail the various points discussed in the article and how each specifically relates to material from the course.
- Following the introduction, summary, and analysis sections, prepare a conclusion to your report where you state your opinion about the major issues or concepts presented. Explain why you have the opinion that you do and provide any alternatives or counter-arguments to your beliefs. For example, do you think it is a good idea for China to promote entrepreneurship? What are your views and what might someone who believes differently argue? Do you believe China is better able to compete in the global marketplace as a capitalist-based system or as a communist society? Etc. Just like with your analysis section, your ability to support your opinion with relevant facts and thoughtfully considered counter-arguments is critical to earning a ‘high’ grade. Your conclusion should be 1-2 paragraphs in length.
- Remember to provide an appropriate bibliographical reference for the article. Properly document the article’s title and respective author as well as the periodical or Web site from which it was taken. You should also reference your textbook. This documentation should be shown at the end of your report.
Your report should be typed, double-spaced, and approximately 2-3 pages in length.
Entrepreneurship Current Event Rubric – ECN 1015
| Excellent (90–100) | Good (74–89) | Fair (60–73) | Substandard (below 60) | |
| Quality of Response:
Application of course content, concepts, ideas, and vocabulary
Up to 20 points | The student showed that s/he understood the components of the entrepreneurship and/or small business management article and was able to accurately apply the course content to show understanding of the article. All sections of the Project were presented, e.g. introduction, summary, analysis, and conclusion, and fully explained. (18 to 20 points) | The student showed that s/he understood most of the components of the entrepreneurship and/or small business management article and there were no material weaknesses in the accuracy of the course content presented by the student. Most of the Project sections were included with a satisfactory explanation, e.g. introduction, summary, analysis, and conclusion. (14.8 to 17.9 points) | The student showed that s/he understood some of the components of the entrepreneurship and/or small business management article, but there were weaknesses in the understanding of the content presented by the student. The Project sections, e.g. introduction, summary, analysis, and conclusion were not fully developed. (12 to 14.7 points) | The student did not show that s/he understood the entrepreneurship and/or small business management article and it was difficult to discern the different Project sections. (1 to 11.9 points) |
| Insightfulness and Analysis:
This is where the student’s understanding and ability to use information is evaluated.
Up to 20 points
| The student was able to provide a thorough analysis of how the entrepreneurship topics presented in the article related to the course. (18 to 20 points) | The student was able to provide an analysis of how the entrepreneurship topics related to the course, but the analysis was not complete. (14.8 to 17.9 points) | The student was minimally able to complete an analysis of how the entrepreneurship topics presented in the article related to the course, but application of the content was minimal with little insight or analysis provided. (12 to 14.7 points) | The student was unable to use analysis to tie the information discussed in the article with concepts covered in the course. (1 to 11.9 points) |
| Writing:
Was the writing at the appropriate level for a freshman level college course?
Up to 10 points | Writing demonstrates clarity, conciseness, and correctness. The project had no writing, organizational, style, tone or other errors. References were cited appropriately. (9 to 10 points) | Writing is accomplished in terms of clarity and conciseness and contains only a few errors. The project had some writing, organizational, style, tone or other errors but they were very limited. There were minimal issues with reference citations. (7.4 to 8.9 points) | Writing lacks clarity or conciseness and contains numerous errors. The project had writing, organizational, style, tone or other errors more often than acceptable in college-level assignments. Reference citations were not correct. (6 to 7.3 points) | Writing is unfocused, rambling, or contains serious errors. The project had writing, organizational, style, tone or other errors throughout the assignment. No reference citations were included. (1 to 5.9 points) |
| Total |