Client Presentation and Final Capstone Paper
Introduction
Throughout your MBA program, you have worked to develop as a business professional and prepare to meet future challenges as a business leader. Your program culminates in the capstone project, which forms the primary focus of this course, the final course you will take in the program. The capstone project is intended to provide for you the opportunity to demonstrate your MBA program outcomes in these ways:
- Planning and executing the strategic and tactical elements of a comprehensive project.
- Integrating and demonstrating the business leadership skill and techniques you have learned throughout the MBA program and your own growth as a business leader.
- Communicating your analysis and recommendations for a real organization both in written form and in a formal presentation.
- Completing your MBA program with an experience that reinforces what you have learned throughout your MBA program.
Note: Path 1 Riipen team members will submit their presentation in this assignment and their final paper in Unit 10, while Path 2 individual path learners will submit their paper in this assignment and their presentation in Unit 10.
Scenario
Path 1: Riipen Team
For this assignment, you will conduct your scheduled client presentation and you must work with your team to ensure you have an active role in preparing or giving the presentation. As a requirement for working with a Capella learner team, your client committed to attending a Web-based presentation during Week 9. If you have not already scheduled this session, please do so. Ideally, all team members will participate in the online presentation; in the event a team member cannot be available for the presentation, the team member must contact the instructor to discuss alternatives.
Assignment Description
For this assignment you will create and participate in a presentation to your client. You are expected to prepare a slide show in advance, and then present it live to your client. You are to record the live client presentation, and include a link to your recording in your submission. Note that you can hold and record your meeting through the client’s web conferencing platform, your own software (if you have some), or software recommended by your instructor. A team representative should contact your instructor if you have any questions about the live presentation.
Before your live presentation, your team will prepare a PowerPoint slide deck and practice your presentation. Your presentation should be engaging, professional, clear, well organized, and focused only on your client’s needs and interests. In your PowerPoint presentation, you should (at minimum) including the following:
- Briefly introduce all team members involved with the project.
- Restate the client’s needs or objectives for the project.
- Briefly summarize the process you followed to arrive at your recommendation.
- Explain the proposed solution or recommendation in detail, with key justification points.
- Review the alternatives you considered, and explain why they did not make the final cut.
- Describe significant legal, ethical, policy, societal, or global implications of the proposal.
- Include a period for questions and follow-up requests from the client.
A 10–15 minute presentation with a 10–15 minute question-and-answer period is ideal.
Provide detailed speakers information in the Notes section on your PowerPoint slides, including in-text citations for your resources.
Refer to the scoring guide to ensure that your work meets the grading criteria for this assignment.
Submission Requirements for Presentation
- Written communication: Write in a professional tone, with no spelling or grammatical errors.
- Verbal communication: Communicate clearly, using a professional tone, focusing on the content in the slides and responding to client questions and requests appropriately.
- Number of slides: 10–15 slides with speakers notes, excluding the title page and references page(s).
- Submit the slide presentation and recording of the client presentation.
- Citations and references: All resources should use current APA style and formatting.
- Length: 10–15 minutes presentation with a 10–15-minute question-and-answer and follow-up period.
- Resources: Include citations at the end of the presentation. Remember to cite your sources for graphics and visuals used.
- APA guidelines: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and format.
- Font and font size: Use an appropriate size and weight for a presentation, generally 24–28 points for headings and no smaller than 18 points for bulleted text. For PowerPoint tips, refer to the PowerPoint Presentations Library Guide.
Uploading Process
You may post your presentation and link to the recorded presentation to the courseroom in the assignment area in any of the following ways:
- Using Kaltura Media. (Refer to the MBA Program Resources for a Kaltura tutorial.)
- As a file in ePortfolio; share the link with faculty.
- A PowerPoint file with your recorded audio presentation. For this option, give yourself extra time to upload the PowerPoint, since large files may take more time to complete the uploading process.
- The link to your presentation that you uploaded to your YouTube channel.
Note: It is up to you to ensure that your instructor can access your presentation. Dead links or failed technology may result in your receiving no credit for this assignment; thus, it is recommended that you test your link and video on a computer that is not logged into the Capella system to ensure that it works properly before submission. You should allow sufficient time to test and troubleshoot issues.
Path 2: Individual Project
This week’s assignment is the final capstone paper. Your presentation is in the final week. For complete details, refer to the capstone project description as you prepare for both assignments.
Assignment Description
Your Final Capstone Paper should address the following expectations:
- Apply foundational knowledge and an understanding of business systems, processes, and technology within and across core disciplines.
- Integrate information across disciplines from differing perspectives.
- Develop logical, well-supported, evidence-based solutions to business challenges and opportunities.
- Apply innovative, strategic, and sustainable approaches to business practice and planning.
- Apply leadership and collaboration principles and strategies for virtual, global, and culturally diverse environments.
- Integrate principles of ethics and integrity into business decisions.
- Communicate clearly and effectively in a business environment.
Additional Expectations
- Include an executive summary following your cover page.
- Include various body sections that contain the analysis and recommendations.
- Include a conclusion that summarizes main points of the paper.
Review the scoring guide prior to submission to ensure you understand the expectations for this assignment.
Submission Requirements
- Style: Your paper should follow the corresponding MBA Academic and Professional Document Guidelines (available in the MBA Program Resources), including single-spaced paragraphs. Use a professional writing style.
- Communication: Ensure written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message and quality.
- APA guidelines: Format your citations according to current APA style.
- Resources: Use at least six citations from credible sources including one from the Wall Street Journal.
- Length: Your paper should be 15–20 pages, not including front and back matter (cover page, executive summary, table of contents, references, appendices). Papers that do not meet this minimum will be immediately returned for revision with a grade of zero.
- Font and font size: 12 point, Times New Roman.