Introduction

This portfolio work project will give you practice with academic writing expectations, while still being work relevant. Many organizations have relationships with professional associations and contribute written articles regularly to newsletters and other publications. In addition, some organizations expect leaders to participate in conferences and seminars, where written work must be submitted using an academic style.

Scenario

From time to time, your organization submits papers to academic publications to help showcase the organization’s thought leadership. Your boss wants to be assured that you are comfortable researching and writing in a style that many academic publications use—in this case, APA style.

Your Role

Your boss has asked you to research and write about ways businesses can apply critical thinking skills to complex issues that are also affected by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). To gain an understanding of how businesses apply critical thinking, you have decided to read an article about Panera Bread Co. and how they solved their mosh pit problem. Then, you will choose another company that you know has a problem you believe good critical thinking and understanding of VUCA can address, allowing you to flex some critical thinking muscles, similar to the leadership at Panera.

Requirements

Read the article “How Panera Solved Its Mosh Pit Problem,” provided in the Resources, thinking about how critical thinking and VUCA factored into their situation. Then, think of a problem you have seen at a business you visited or read about in an article; do any research you feel is necessary to thoroughly understand the problem this company has and address this assignment. Write an APA-formatted paper that is well organized and covers the following:

• Write an introduction that tells the reader what to expect of this paper (1 paragraph).
• Provide an overview of the Panera bread situation, including brief mention of how critical thinking and VUCA factored into the resolution. Then, transition to a discussion of the problem that you will be solving for another company, describing the situation (3–4 paragraphs).
• Apply the framework for critical thinking as outlined by Michael Kallet in Think Smarter (linked in the Resources) to the problem you identified.
• Recommend at least one evidence-based solution to the situation.
  • You must find one additional article to support your recommendation.
• Explain how VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) could affect both the situation and your recommendation (1–2 paragraphs).
• Write a conclusion that wraps up and summarizes your document (1 paragraph).

Deliverable

Write a 3–5 page academic paper following APA style and formatting.