Final Project Prompt BTW 250 (B2) STAKEHOLDER ECOLOGY INTRODUCTION As we enter the final phase of the course, our attention w ill now turn tow ards some of the more conceptual aspects of how a firm operates amid a swarm ofFORCES . 1 The evolving narrative thatdeveloped during the past few weeks can be read as a coherent simulation of textual production whereby clus ters of desired cons equences (and th e inevitable ch allenges that follo wed) were synthesized into descriptive and evaluativ e writing in the form of letters, memos, reports, and proposals. These materials, collected in a chronological order, function for an audience as a kind of meta-text that narrates the production of the texts themselves. For the final project, we will continue to work within the simulated environments we have created during the collaborative assignment. We can think of a firm mechanicallyin that, just like an engine, a firm is installed within a preexisting structure/situation. Just as an engine must be connected to other mechanical /pneumatic/h ydraulic/electrical systems through a complex set ofcalculation and calibration, a firm must be “installed”within an exi sting “ecology” 2 of relations. The process, both for the engine and the entire biotic world, requires adaptation. 3 Of course, since our firm is part of a simulation, we will not perform the (actual) legal, financial, and otherwise technical operations by which a firm would become wired into a local and/or global structure. But before any aspects of this installation process, a certain type of reading/wri ting is typically undertaken bySTAKEHOLDERS . RESEARCH , the process whereby a firm examines the “ecology” into which it will incorporate itself will now become our focus as we enter the final phase of BTW 250. Just as professionals perform research that examines how DESIRED CONSEQUENCES must be reassessed in lieu ofa set of parameters (legal, geographical, or otherwise), your group will research how the narrative you created in the grou p collaboration p roject exists w ith regards to: ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY GLOBALIZING MARKETS INCREASING COMPLEXITY MAKING A PROFIT MANAGING RISKS OPERATING LEGALLY RULE OF LAW 1 All terms in bold caps refer to entries on the BTW WIKI. 2 Remember, “ecology” and “economy” have the same Greek root–oikos: house, household. Question: Why did I capitalize the word “ecology”?Question: How are economies like ecologies?3 To use another analogy, imagine your firm is an app: if someone downloaded it, and tried to “run” it, would it work? = REREAD THE WIKI PAGE(S)!= ENVIRONMENT
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As we enter the final phase of the course, our attention will now turn towards some of the more
conceptual aspects of how a firm operates amid a swarm of FORCES.1The evolving narrative that
developed during the past few weeks can be read as a coherent simulation of textual production
whereby clusters of desired consequences (and the inevitable challenges that followed) were
synthesized into descriptive and evaluative writing in the form of letters, memos, reports, and
proposals. These materials, collected in a chronological order, function for an audience as a kind
of meta-text that narrates the production of the texts themselves.
For the final project, we will continue to work within the simulated environments we have created
during the collaborative assignment. We can think of a firm mechanically in that, just like an
engine, a firm is installed within a preexisting structure/situation. Just as an engine must be
connected to other mechanical/pneumatic/hydraulic/electrical systems through a complex set of
calculation and calibration, a firm must be “installed” within an existing “ecology”2of relations. The
process, both for the engine and the entire biotic world, requires adaptation .3
Of course, since our firm is part of a simulation, we will not perform the (actual) legal, financial,
and otherwise technical operations by which a firm would become wired into a local and/or global
structure. But before any aspects of this installation process, a certain type of reading/writing is
typically undertaken by STAKEHOLDERS.
RESEARCH, the process whereby a firm examines the “ecology ” into which it will incorporateitself will now become our focus as we enter the final phase of BTW 250. Just as professionals
perform research that examines how DESIRED CONSEQUENCES must be reassessed in lieu of
a set of parameters (legal, geographical, or otherwise), your group will research how the narrative
you created in the group collaboration project exists with regards to:
ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY
GLOBALIZING MARKETS
INCREASING COMPLEXITY
MAKING A PROFIT
MANAGING RISKS
OPERATING LEGALLY
RULE OF LAW
1
All terms in bold caps refer to entries on the BTW WIKI.2
Remember, “eco logy ” and “eco nomy ” have the same Greek root – oikos : house, household.
Question: Why did I capitalize the word “ecology”?
Question: How are economies like ecologies? 3
To use another analogy, imagine your firm is an app: if someone downloaded it, and tried to “run” it, would it work?
This project has (5) major “units” (to be completed in the following order):
I. Group Work Agreement (GWA) and Schedule of Deliverables
(see prompt for Collaborative Assignment on Moodle)
II. Initial SWOT Assessment/Reflection
Our first brainstorming assignment will involve assessing the STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES,
OPPORTUNITIES, AND THREATS (SWOT report) that face your consulting firm at present.
This assessment will help the group develop issues/questions/challenges/conflicts that can be used
as a springboard for thinking about STAKEHOLDERS and ENVIRONMENT. Ideally, the
SWOT assessment will serve to crea te a portrait of the group’s desired consequences before
attempting to install the firm within the mainframe the primary and secondary research will soon
explore.
III. An Ecology of Stakeholders
1. Brainstorm: who are your project’s STAKEHOLDERS ?
(just to emphasize: as in, the WIKI’s definition of “STAKEHOLDER”).
2. Take a look at Bruce Erickson’s cognitive map on the bottom of the SELECT
RELATIONSHIPS page.
3. Make a cognitive map with the same AFFORDANCES as this one (i.e. it doesn’t/won’t
look exactly like this one) by defining the relationship between your STAKEHOLDERS with regards to their DESIRED CONSEQUENCES (ex. my financial backers ’ desired
consequences are positioned diametrically with regards to my competition ’s ). The map
must be designed/formatted in a logical way (think back to resumes…). It should also satisfy
the AUDIENCE FORUM requirements of #4 (size, scale, colors, contrast, visibility to a
classroom of students, etc.)
4. Make the map in whatever software you’re comfortable working with, but you’ll probably
want to import/reformat it into something like a .pdf file as we’ll need to bring it up on the
projector screen (= it will be an element of your SLIDE SHOW – more on this below).
IV. Survey
The survey will begin as a brainstorming process between departments. Ask yourself, “What
usable date might my department glean from a survey of college-aged students?” and, then, “What
kind of questions should I ask to achieve my DESIRED CONSEQUENCES?” Ev ery question
has an AFFORDANCE. Keep in mind the ARGUMENT that your research is serving. Imagine
you clients have asked you to conduct this (more) in-depth research so as to better understand how
STAKEHOLDERS are attached, in an “ecological” way, to a CAUSE-AND-EFFECT relationship