COMP106 Industry and Career Research Report Instructions

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Industry and Career Research Report

Individually students will gather information about professional organizations, publications,

memberships, certifications, and current news pertaining to their chosen career field. They will create a

formal business report in which to present their findings and submit this to their professor.

Essential Employability Skills Learning Outcomes:

 Locate, select, organize and document information using appropriate technology and

information systems.

 Manage the use of time and other resources to complete projects.

 Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken and visual form to fulfill the purpose and meet the needs of an audience.

 Respond to written, spoken or visual messages in a manner that ensures effective communication.

 Apply a systematic approach to solve problems.

Vocational Learning Outcomes:

 Use appropriate current technologies to produce necessary reports and documents.

 Use the Internet and other sources of information to locate, assess, and collect data required for

research.

 Outline the roles and benefits of professional organizations, memberships, subscriptions and

certifications in a chosen career field or industry.

 Identify sources of information gathered in order to give proper recognition to the works of others.

 Use appropriate technology to organize and present research findings in a form that will clearly be understood and accessible by the end users and management (e.g., with tables, lists/bullets, images; suitable language and terminology; appropriate electronic folder).

TASKS:

1. Use MsWord to create a report. Include: a. A title page b. A table of contents (generate this from your headings and modify font settings and

content as needed) c. Headings and subheadings where applicable d. An APA References page e. An Appendix A and Appendix B (refer to these items within the body of your report)

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2. Formatting: a. Be sure to format all pages according to topics taught in class (refer to rubric for details) b. Use Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial font c. Font size should be 12 point for body text d. Use styles for headings and subheadings (note that you may need to modify styles to

ensure continued double-spacing throughout your report) e. Apply double-line spacing to the report f. Use consistent formatting to all body paragraphs and levels of headings

LRC resources for APA guidelines for a research paper can be reviewed at http://library.centennialcollege.ca/research/apa and http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/writing/apa and examples of citing business sources specifically at http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/writing/apabusiness

3. Visit the School of Business Program website at http://www.centennialcollege.ca/programs- courses/schools/school-of-business/programs/. Locate your current program of study. In MsWord start an introductory paragraph that gives a brief description of your program of study, why you selected this program, what skills you hope to gain from this program, and what you plan to do after graduation (continue on to university for example, or start your career here in Toronto, etc.) Use a heading for this section entitled, “Academic Program Outline.” Next:

a. Create a table in your MsWord report that lists each semester in your program and has four (4) columns with the following headings: Course Code, Course Description, Weekly Hours, One Course Learning Outcome. This single table will include ALL semesters for your program (identify where each semester begins)

b. Apply a table style of your choice c. Ensure that column widths are a good fit for the content within the column d. Add a table title at the top of table which includes: Table number, states your program

name, your program number, and your program coordinator’s name e. Add a note to the bottom of the table stating the source. If you modified the content

from the original table then use the words “Adapted from…” f. Include an entry on your References page for the source website from which you

retrieved the table information

4. Start a new paragraph with a heading entitled “Professional Organization/Association” and in

this part of your report you will discuss ONE professional organization or association that is

related to your future career field (based on your program concentration). Explain:

a. What the organization does, or why it exists

b. Who uses it

c. Services offered (at least 2)

d. Events (at least 2)

e. Membership fees and the process for becoming a member (a student member if

available), and the benefits associated with becoming a member.

5. Start a new paragraph with a heading entitled “News Article” and in this part of your report you

will summarize a recent news article (approximately one to three paragraphs) pertaining to your

chosen future career field (based on your program of study). The article may relate to the

industry, a specific company, a specific product, etc. You should make it clear in your summary

how this relates to your career field and/or program of study. Remember to include in-text

citations whenever you quote from the article. Include the article source information on your

References page. Include a copy of the full news article in Appendix A, and be sure to refer to it

within the body of your report. Include your Appendix A in the Table of Contents list.

6. Start a new paragraph with a heading entitled “Industry Certification and Publication” and in

this part of your report you will discuss ONE professional certification (different from step 3

above) associated with your career field and ONE publication to which it would be helpful for

you to subscribe to. Include:

a. the costs involved to gain certification

b. the process to gain certification

c. the levels of certification

d. the benefits of gaining certification

e. list at least ONE magazine or other subscription that would benefit you in either your

current academic career or your future field of work and give a brief summary of the

information or services provided

Remember to cite your source(s) of information in your References page and use in-text

citations whenever quoting from your sources. Note that some paraphrasing may also require

you to use an in-text citations and cite your sources.

7. Start a new paragraph with a heading entitled “Job Posting” and in this part of your report you

will discuss ONE job opportunity currently available in your chosen career field and express why

you feel you could do well in this type of career/job once you complete your program of study

here at Centennial. List

a. the title of job

b. company/recruiting firm

c. salary range

d. THREE duties/responsibilities and/or THREE skills/or areas of knowledge required

Place a copy of the job posting in Appendix B, and be sure to mention the appendix B item

within the paragraph. Add Appendix B to your Table of Contents list. Remember to use in-text

citations when you quote directly from the source, and remember to list this source on your

APA References page. Refer to Appendix B somewhere in the body of your report.

SUBMIT: Submit completed report to the eCentennial Dropbox on or before the due date. Use TurnItIn

to self-determine the originality of your work. A 20% mark deduction, per day, will be applied to all

reports submitted after the due date.

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RUBRIC:

Criteria Evaluation

Report Formatting Excellent 5

Good 4

Fair 3

Needs Work 0-2

Title Page – contains assignment title, student’s name and student number, professor’s name, due date, content centered on page horizontally and vertically

Table of Contents – the table of contents command used to create/insert the table of contents, used dot leaders, page text is set to left-alignment

Page numbers – appropriate headers/footers, page numbers flow throughout sections

Headings and subheadings – Fonts and font size consistent for each heading level, styles were applied

Writing Mechanics – Free from spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors, report uses required line spacing as per instructions

Table – table is formatted using a table style, contains 4 columns with column headings, uses landscape orientation within the report body which will need a section break (refer to sample report provided by your professor), contains table headings for each semester (refer to Centennial’s website for program outline, table has a title, a table number, and a source notation (APA formatting), source should also be included on the references page

Fonts – Times New Roman ,Calibri, or Arial font is used, size is 12 point for body text, styles are used for headings and subheadings, consistent formatting used for paragraphs

References – References page is formatted according to APA guidelines, in-text citation tool was used

Appendix A– contains a copy of the news article, referred to in the body text, included in References list

Appendix B – contains a copy of a job posting relevant to the student’s chosen field of study/work, referred to in the body text, included in the References list

Subtotal Formatting /50

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Report Content

Program Model Route – includes a MsWord table of the program the student is enrolled in with program name and program number and coordinator associated with program, table is formatted using a table style, contains 4 columns, contains table headings for each semester and each column (refer to Centennial’s website for program outline

Professional Organization – discusses what the organizations does or why it exists and who uses it, their services (at least 2), and their events (at least 2), membership fees and process for becoming a member (a student member if available), the benefits associated with becoming a member

News Article – is relevant to chosen career field/industry, summarized within body text and has appropriate heading, news article in appendix is referred to in the body text, cited within References page

Industry Certifications and Publications – discusses at least ONE professional certification associated with this career field/industry/program of study, the costs, the process, the levels, benefits of certification, at least one publications for subscriptions and brief summary, each cited within References page

Job Posting – Brief explanation is given as to why the student feels this is a job they can perform after graduating, lists title of job, company/recruiting firm, salary range, 3 duties/responsibilities or 3 skills/knowledge required, job posting in appendix is referred to in the body text, cited on References page