How to work on team projects and prepare reports

1. How to work on team projects and prepare reports Benito Arruñada

2. Process Team formation I’m from third year! I don’t know anyone! Diversity Organization Selection and case assignment Urgent: Deadline General reading on the case Selection of the specific problem to be dealt with Question to be asked: what? Who is the report for? To be specified in the report Identification of theoretical instruments: how

3. Preparing the project

4. Case study • What’s it about? • Identify the main arguments • What theory and concepts can be applied? • To describe, explain, predict • Counter-arguments • Nuances, explanatory hypotheses • What additional information do I need to test them? • Summarizing is not analyzing, just a first step • What is my subject? What do I want to say?

5. Information sources • Theoretical information: other previous courses • Empirical information • Personal contacts • Data bases • EconLit: scientific studies • EBSCO: Business Elite: professional publications • Daily and economic press, The Economist • SABE: statements of accounts • Internet • Pros and cons, risks

6. Fundamentals of processing information: Maintain a critical, selective attitude of “buying ideas” Often, there is no point in gathering contradictory arguments of unequal value

7. Basic recommendation for reports and presentations • This is not an exam  • The reader / audience is not your captive  • They have not obligation to listen to you or read what you have written • Do not waste their time

8. Recommendations for preparing reports(1): Substance • Focus on the subject Selection: Answer a single question • Focus on the audience Address a specific audience • Use theory: • Essential for drawing up a “map” of the problem • The theory is needed at least for organizing the information: explanations, solutions • With no theory, we are just bad journalists • Make proper use of visual aids: they will only convince if they are pertinent • Excise, excise, excise: do not be committed to your creature—it does not deserve it & “less is more”

9. Recommendations for preparing reports (2): Form • Executive summary: should allow readers to understand the main points • Sources: state them correctly and fully • Wording: read several times without an audience • Correct spelling use the spellcheck •  watch out for mistakes not detected by the spellcheck, e.g. «affect» instead of «effect»

10. Presentations • PowerPoint • Do not overuse: numbers, colors, figures, photos • No more than 10 slides • Relevance, understandability, legible color • Oral presentation • Wait for silence before beginning • Speak without papers • Participation by all need for logical structure, presentations, etc. • Discussion and answering questions • Participation by all • Do not reveal failings unnecessarily

11. Hints • Legibility • Contrast between text and background • Lighting in the room • Not many words on each line • Activate automatic restrictions on PPT • Simplify • These may seem obvious hints, but… • For example:

14. Reviewing the project

15. How to review projects (1) • Define the argument • What question is being asked? • Of whom? • What weapons can be used? What is the basic framework? • Stick to the argument. This requires: • New content • Elimination of much content that has already been written • Elimination of contradictions between arguments • My comments • Do not follow them strictly • They are only suggestions after a quick read-through much more has to be changed, especially in line with the discussion • Briefly explain the changes in a short note on the executive summary page

16. How to review projects (2) Receiving criticisms requires: • (1) «being open» to understanding them, and • (2) accepting criticisms productively: • They often just point to a problem but do not give a solution, or the solution is no solution at all • We have to find the right solution • We must avoid thinking we do not deserve the criticism because the critic didn’t give a solution

17. Writing the report

18. Metaphors • “We are seeing wolf pack behavior in the markets, and if we don’t stop these packs, they will tear the weaker countries apart.” Anders Borg, Sweden’s finance minister, about the financial crisis of the Euro in May 2010, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f96a6c14-5b48-11df-85a3-00144feab49a.html.

19. How to write clearlyA golden rule: avoid nominalization (forming nouns from verbs) • Examples (bad  good): • The police conducted an investigation into the matter  The police investigated the matter. • There is a need for further study of this program  The staff must study this program further • Our discussion concerned a tax cut  We discussed a tax cut • There was first a review of the evolution of the dorsal fin  First, she reviewed how the dorsal fin evolved. • Moral: We are telling a story. Therefore we must focus on the characters and the action but without being too colloquial

20. Some typical faults • Footnotes: • Place them before a comma or full stop, not in mid-sentence • Avoid: • Excessive use of adjectives • Exaggeration • Colloquialisms • Excessively formal language • Double emphasis • Value judgments • References: • Follow a single, professional system • Give thorough information, to facilitate location

21. Examples of wording

22. Title:How should second year business science or economics students manage their career?

23. How should we manage a professional career?

24. How we should manage a professional career

25. How to manage a career

26. Titles • Requirements: • Short • Informative • Attractive • Because they are fundamental: • We should devote a lot of time to them • We should rewrite them many times

27. It can therefore be concludedthatthelabourmarketfacedbygraduates in economicsorbusinesssciencewhentheyleaveuniversityiscurrently at a highpointfornumber of workers. • Ambiguous: • “... at a highpointfornumber of workers”. • Impersonal, repetitions: • “It can therefore be concludedthatthelabourmarketfacedbygraduates in economicsorbusinesssciencewhentheyleaveuniversityiscurrentlyat a highpointfornumber of workers.

28. We conclude that the market for new graduates in Economics or Business Science had a surplus supply / demand. • Lessons • Do not avoid using the first person: • “It can be concluded”  Who concludes? • Precision is fundamental: ambiguity must be avoided • “is currently at a high point for number of workers.” • Are there too many or too few workers? • Avoid repetitions • “is currently”

29. Job offers can be found on specialized Internet portals (such as Infojobs, Monster,…). • Job offers can be found on specialized Internet portals like Infojobs and Monster. • Ellipsis (suspension point): • Reveals lack of information and of interest in the reader • Can often be eliminated without affecting the meaning (as in our case) • Sometimes, more examples should be found • Should be used very rarely

30. To what extent is the market prepared to reward students for something extra in their education? The question can be converted into what is the return on education, covered in the section on econometric models. • Too many questions • To what extent is the market prepared to reward students for something extra in their education)?” • The reader wants answers, not questions • Abuse of the impersonal • “The question can be converted into...” Who converts it? • ¿Do not leave out words – it slows down reading • “... (which will be) covered in ...”

31. Good career management requires analysis of the different options a student has during the close of their studies. • Good career management requires analysis of the different options a student has when they finish studying. • For good career management, students coming to the end of their studies should analyze all their options.

32. Thepurpose of thisstudyistoexplainhowtosolvetheproblem of watershortage. Forthispurpose, wehavestudiedthe causes of thisshortage, focusingonthemanagement of waterresources. Forthispurpose, wehaveanalyzedfourpossiblemechanismstosolvetheproblem, weighingthe pros and cons in ordertoreachtheoptimumsolution. • Thepurpose of thisstudyistoexplainhowtosolvetheproblem of watershortage. Forthispurpose, wehavestudiedthe causes of thisshortage, focusingonthemanagement of waterresources. Forthispurpose, wehaveanalyzedfourpossiblemechanismstosolvetheproblem, weighingthe pros and cons in ordertoreachtheoptimumsolution.

33. Our objective is to solve the problem of water shortage. After studying its causes and examining how it would be possible to manage the shortage, we analyze four possible solutions : 1, 2, 3 and 4. We defend solution X because Y. • After studying the problem of water shortage, we analyze four solutions: 1, 2, 3 and 4. We defend solution X because Y. • Lessons: • Word order is fundamental • We give the necessary information: the options and, above all, our recommendation

34. The causes considered initially when we start to analyze the problem • The first causes that are analyzed

35. Regarding what are known as first-world countries, it can be stated... • Regarding developed countries, we consider that... • Lessons: • Avoid circumlocution (roundabout expressions) • As stated by Mark Twain (who was paid by the word), do not write «metropolis» if you can use «city» • It «it can be stated», prove it by stating it. • In general, do not waste readers time by describing your problems or how you write.

36. This is because the fact that we are dealing with an essential good makes it necessary for a body supervising development of the mechanism to be adopted to act. • This is because the fact that we are dealing with an essential good makes it necessary for a body supervising the development of the mechanism to be adopted to act.

37. This is because, since it is a basic good, it is necessary for a body to supervise implementation of the chosen policy. • Lesson: • Check, then check again, then check once more. • Then, at the end, when we think everything is ready, forget that everything is ready, and check again.