Theory Application Paper

Theory Application PaperOverview: Why This Assignment Is ImportantOrganizational theories provide frameworks for understanding organizations that help us see them in unique ways. These frameworks may help us to solve problems or offer new insights into organizational difficulties. Translating these theories into everyday language and articulating the ways that theory can be applied is a critical skill to develop as an organizational communication scholar. This process of translation is not easy and requires in-depth research and understanding.Your TaskIn an effort to help you hone your translation skills, you are required to write one cohesive paper in two separate pieces (Part 1 and Part 2) and then develop a presentation based on your writings. You will turn in each part in separately; however, when you submit the second part, you will resubmit the first part, with revisions based on comments from your instructor. Part 2 is written as a continuation of Part 1.Part 1: 500-Word Theory DescriptionFirst, you will write a 500-word description of the theory you selected in the Midterm Topic Sign-Up. As you conduct research on your theory, you’ll find that there are a lot of details that could be included in a description. The 500-word limit, however, requires that you boil your theory down to its essence while still maintaining the central ideas. You might use one or more of the following questions to help you identify the essence.• What is the central question or problem this theory is seeking to explain?• What are the main tenets of this theory?• What does this theory provide that other theories do not?Your description should also be heavily supported by research, and most, if not all, of the sentences in your description will have one or more citations. Your description should use plain English and should be easily understood by your colleagues. Keep in mind, the word limit is to help you focus on writing succinctly. Each sentence needs to count. In many ways, writing three pages on your theory would be much easier. So, do not let the short length fool you, it is a challenging task. Please note that the word limit will be strictly enforced.Part 2: 1,000-Word Theory ApplicationSecond, you will need to submit a theory application document. This should also be succinct and should focus on showing how your theory might be used in an organization. It should answer the following questions.• How does the theory work in organizations?• Why might this theory be helpful for a manager? What are the takeaways?This portion will also be based on research, although likely not the same research as what you needed to read to complete Part 1. Be sure to support your ideas with evidence from the literature. You should submit the application section together with a revised Part 1 as a final product. The maximum combined word count for Parts 1 and 2 is 1,500 words.PresentationAfter you have submitted your theory description document (Midterm, Part 1) and gotten feedback you should also prepare a short five-to-seven-minute narrated presentation that presents your theory to the class. You may use any platform you like (Voice Thread, Recorded PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.). You may find that the way you told the story in the paper does not lend itself to oral presentation. You may need to reorder your ideas to make your presentation compelling. Further, any peer feedback on your presentation in the form of questions and comments can be incorporated into your final draft of the paper, which includes your Part 2 submission.Research ExpectationsEach of the theories in this class has a core body of research of which any author using these ideas should be well aware. In your research, you are expected first to read enough to understand what these core articles and books are, and second, to read those core materials and draw on them in your article. There are a variety of ways to find out what these seminal pieces are, but the bottom line is that as you read the research you will start to see patterns of who is cited each time your theory is mentioned. This is a clue that you have located one of the seminal articles. Your research might also go beyond the seminal articles, in which case, you are free to research a particular application of the theory or area you find interesting. If the ideas that you are reading in your research are not “hanging together,” you likely need to do more research and reading.The research for this assignment should consist of only academic articles. No newspapers, websites, or magazine articles are acceptable. You should conduct your research using library databases in combination with Google scholar. A simple internet search with Google, Bing, or any other search engine will not get you where you need to go for this assignment.Hint: Every academic article begins with a review of relevant literature. This section of the article is meant to orient you to where the authors are situating their new ideas within a broader body of research. It will be incredibly helpful for you to pay special attention to this section when reading articles on your assigned theory.