Trends

Review of Trends

  • Definition of Trends

    • Ongoing occurrences engaged in by a wide number of people, not just a few.

Importance of Trends

  • Companies and organizations must be aware of trends due to potential impacts on their operations.

  • Trends can provide opportunities or signal impending disasters.

Identifying a Trend

  • Key Questions to Identify a Trend:

    1. What: Clearly state what the trend is.

    2. How: Manifestation of the trend - what it looks like.

    3. When: Origin of the trend - when it started or if any recent shifts occurred.

    4. Where: Origin location of the trend - where it first gained popularity.

    5. Who: Participants involved in the trend - individuals, groups or organizations defined demographically and psychographically.

Trend Report Framework

  • Format: Memo directed toward someone within the organization.

  • Structure: Organized with headings and subheadings for clarity.

Memo Components

  • Audience Awareness: Tailor information for the boss or authority figure.

  • Goals:

    • Educate the reader on the topic adequately.

    • Interpret the topic's meaning and its relevance to the organization.

Body of the Trend Report

  1. Introduction:

    • Grab attention with motivating statements.

    • Clearly state topic and purpose.

    • Prepare readers with a roadmap of the message.

  2. Main Content:

    • Provide context and background information.

    • Describe and explain the chosen trend.

    • Offer evidence and statistical support to reinforce the trend's existence.

    • Discuss participants involved and who may be affected by the trend.

  3. Analysis of the Trend:

    • Answer the question of why the trend is occurring.

    • Provide interpretation related to societal or industry impacts.

    • Include perspectives on trends with supporting evidence.

  4. Relevance to Organization:

    • Explain the trend's importance to the organization.

    • Suggest possible actions that the company might take in response to the trend (provide 2-3 options).

  5. Conclusion:

    • Summarize key ideas and findings from the report.

    • Build goodwill by thanking the reader and offering support for further discussion or inquiries.

Length and Formatting Guidelines

  • Report should be approximately 1000-1200 words (2.5 to 3.5 pages).

  • The majority (2/3) of the document deals with the trend itself; remaining (1/3) focuses on analysis and relevance.

  • Short introduction and conclusion (about a paragraph each).

Outline Creation

  • Students should draft an outline based on their research and current knowledge of the trend.

  • Utilize provided outline templates or examples to structure reports logically.

Research Component

  • Types of Research:

    • Secondary: Information generated by others (required).

    • Primary: Information generated personally (optional).

  • Maintain a research log with at least five secondary sources and nine key pieces of information for each.

Components of Research Log:

  1. Research topic or question leading to source.

  2. Date of the search.

  3. Full bibliographic information for citations.

  4. Source summary (1-2 sentences).

  5. Evaluation of source (credibility, relevance).

  6. Potential usage in the project.

  7. Source notes (paraphrased ideas and direct quotes).

Du Bois Library Website

  • Tips on navigating the research resources available through the library, including searching databases relevant to specific trend topics.

Harvard Business School (HBS) Formatting

Citing Sources

  • Importance of documenting the use of others' ideas to:

    • Give credit.

    • Avoid plagiarism.

    • Establish a trustworthy research reputation.

Key Features of HBS Formatting:

  1. Bibliographies:

    • Compiled at the end of reports, with citations in inverted format for authors.

    • Entries separated by periods, alphabetically arranged.

  2. Footnotes/Endnotes:

    • Used instead of in-text citations.

    • Superscript numbers correspond to source details at the bottom of the page or at the end of the report.

  3. Source Lines:

    • To be included under any graphs or visuals based on borrowed data or original creations.