BC 500: Action Research for Business Solutions

Overview

In the "information age," managers/consultants are confronted daily with business problems that must be solved if their employer/client is to remain competitive in the business enterprise.  This new role of “problem solver” has come to be an essential skill set for professionals across all business endeavors. While trial and error may have worked in the past, this course will provide a set of processes and tools to plan, implement, reflect, and evaluate business problems using action research methodologies. Action Research (AR), while having theoretical grounding in traditional research methods in the academic setting, is a distinctive research method in that it focuses on identifying solutions (i.e., actions) to solve business problems. Such research processes and techniques enable professionals who provide services to people in organizational, institutional, or community contexts to become facilitators to solve organizational problems.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify and understand the foundations (seminal works) of action research and how this research technique evolved from traditional research methods.
• Understand the process of action research is a tool for on-going organizational improvement, not just a one time event.
• Link key leadership and applied research skills to maximize the impact of action research processes within the organization.
• Develop a detailed proposal for an action research activity in their professional context.
• Understand the process of the formal presentation of action research findings to the organization.

Required Texts
BC 500 texts are available from the JIU/MBS bookstore