This activity gives you the chance to assess past and current scholarly research addressing concepts related to a new problem and gap in practice. The business story you draw from allows you to analyze a problem and gap in a specific business context while analyzing how past and current literature informs your identified problem and gap.
Employer Expectations
The following skills, which apply to this assignment, frequently appear in articles, job posts, and university reports related to employer expectations of a doctoral degree holder:
- Utilize evidence-based literature in guiding the development of solutions.
- Express oneself clearly and professionally in writing.
Preparation
If you have not done so, practice choosing which excerpts from past and current literature support which gaps by completing the Practice Aligning Current and Past Literature activity. Identify at least two articles (one from the current literature, published within the last 35 years, and one from the past literature) that inform your selected problem and gap.
Also, review the business stories and choose a business you have not used in previous assignments.
Instructions
Using a business story other than the one you used in previous assignments, choose a problem and its related gap in practice. Choose from the three pairs of problems and gaps in practice linked and labeled for this assignment, which relate to the assignment topics.
Write a 45 page analysis in which you:
- State the specific business problem and the gap in practice.
- Discuss how the two articles you found for this assignment apply to current trends in the field of leadership, then add these sources to your Capstone Literature Matrix. Download the if you need a new copy.
- Based on your selected problem, gap, and the past and current literature you have reviewed for this assignment, identify a related business problem and project using one of three topics appropriate for the field of leadership. Explain why this project would be a good fit to address the problem.
- Explain why removing your personal biases from the literature discovery process might help you in identifying more applicable past and current research to provide supporting evidence for your topic and project.
Submit your analysis and literature matrix in the assignment area. Be sure to upload both documents before submitting the assignment.
Additional Requirements
As you complete your assignment, be sure your submission meets the following guidelines:
- Capstone Literature Matrix: Submit the completed literature matrix with your selected articles.
- Written communication: Use error-free doctoral-level writing, with original (nonplagiarized) content, logical phrasing, and accurate word choices.
- APA formatting: Format all references and citations according to the current APA style and formatting guidelines. Visit for help with APA.
- Font and font size: Use a consistent APA-compliant font, 12 points.
- Length: Submit a 45 page, double-spaced analysis in addition to the literature matrix.
- File naming protocol: Follow the standard naming conventions for any files you upload. Refer to the for details.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
- Competency 1: Create academically sound annotations into a matrix of literature to support business research of problems and practices occurring in the field of leadership.
- Make annotations in a literature matrix that convey how the literature provides adequate evidence for the problem, gap, and project need.
- Competency 2: Critically integrate existing relevant literature to determine an important and meaningful gap in practice for leadership.
- Identify examples of current and past articles that provide evidence for a chosen problem and gap in practice.
- Competency 3: Identify personal bias to create project topics in leadership based on need versus want.
- Describe the role of removing personal biases in the project discovery process.
- Competency 5: Analyze trends in the field of leadership as drivers of business problems and gaps in practice.
- Discuss how selected current and past articles apply to current trends in the field of leadership.
- Competency 6: Integrate results from multiple sources to formulate a problem and rationalize a business project in the field of leadership.
- Identify and provide a rationale for a business problem and project appropriate for the field of leadership.
- Use varied sentence structures and correct grammar to convey clear meaning and engage readers.
- Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
