HRM Program:The experience paper is used to design, implement, and report on an intervention strategy or organizational development experience. Some secondary work may be involved, such as the use of references, but instead of extensive research, the author will report real and factual happenings and relate these to the broad "principles", methodologies, and doctrines studied in the readings and course work across the entire master's education. For the Human Resources Management Program, the master¿s project represents a capstone or culmination of the work at Nova Southeastern University. Therefore, this paper should be representative of the depth and quality of academic work of which the student is capable. The student may wish to show this paper to prospective or current employers. The Program Office will make this work available to the accreditation panels, as well as visitors from sister institutions as a means of demonstrating the quality of work expected and produced by students at Nova Southeastern University. The project must be of a publishable quality and contain, where appropriate, evidence of research methods including quantitative analysis. Footnotes, quotes, and references are expected where sources should be cited or elaborated. APA style manual should be used as a model, The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.
MBA Program:
The master¿s project is used only as a program requirement when a student chooses not to write a formal research paper - i.e., a thesis - and only upon written permission from the Program Office. The student should engage in secondary and primary research. The faculty seeks to learn how the students has integrated and applied the basis or program curriculum to his work, to measure exploratory skills, and to measure the candidates ability to do graduate level research. Where no applicability exists due to the fact that a student is unemployed - rarely - a case study such as a management audit may be proposed to the Program Office and be substituted, provided that the student can demonstrate access to the data of the subject organization. In either situation, the research is written about experiences in professional organizations (properly documented as to source and time and not discovery from a library alone). It should carry a specific implementation section which can be evaluated by faculty review. The MBA papers must deal with broad issues and general managerial concepts. They should reflect depth in management doctrine as well as quantitative methodology, applications, alternatives, criteria, and relative factors with supporting data directly related to the findings and conclusions derived.