GM599 Unit 3 Capstone Problem Statement Draft Example

Course	GM599 Applied Research Project
Unit	Unit 3
Paper type	Problem statement draft
Length	About 490 words, 4 pages double-spaced
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Purdue University Global
Program	MS in Management
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for GM599 Unit 3

Organization, Symptom, Consequence, Decision: A Unit 3 Problem Statement Draft for a Transit Capstone

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

GM599: Applied Research Project

Unit 3 Problem Statement Draft

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

Wexmoor Regional Transit and every figure are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real.

What this part is doingNaming the four parts in the lead shows the reader how the draft is built before the first paragraph begins.

The Organization

Wexmoor Regional Transit is a composite public bus system that runs its routes out of three garages. It employs 312 full-time bus operators and has 24 road supervisor positions. Road supervisors monitor service on the street, respond to incidents and collisions, relieve operators when buses run late and support operators in disputes with riders. Until recently, most supervisors were promoted from the operator ranks.

The Symptom

Experienced operators have largely stopped applying. Internal interest has fallen by about three quarters: 7.4 applicants per posting across the sixteen postings of 2019 to 2022, and 1.9 across the fourteen since. Nine of those fourteen were filled by outside hires. The median time a supervisor position stays vacant has risen from 41 days to 97.

The Consequence

Vacant supervisor positions and new outside hires both cost service. When a position is vacant, incidents in that supervisor's zone are handled by dispatch over the phone until another supervisor can drive across the service area. Outside hires must learn routes, stops and garage practices that a promoted operator already knows, and operations staff report that their first months are slower. The American Public Transportation Association's workforce study found that agencies across the country face shortages in frontline and supervisory roles, which makes outside hiring harder and more expensive (American Public Transportation Association, 2023).

The agency is filling more supervisor jobs from outside at the moment when outside candidates are hardest to find.

What this part is doingThe highlighted sentence explains why the symptom matters now rather than in general.

The Decision

Supervisor pay is due for review by the director of operations when the next budget is prepared. Without evidence on why operators stopped applying, the review risks changing pay when another cause, such as losing seniority, matters as much.

Draft Purpose Statement

The purpose of this project is to explain why eligible bus operators at Wexmoor Regional Transit have largely stopped applying for road supervisor positions since 2023, using posting and payroll records, a survey of eligible operators and interviews, in order to inform the director of operations' review of supervisor pay and promotion terms.

Ellis and Levy recommend that a problem statement name the problem, its evidence and its consequences, and connect them to a need for research (Ellis & Levy, 2008). This draft tries to do each in turn.

Claims Still to Verify

Two claims in this draft are not yet verified. The median vacancy figures, 41 and 97 days, come from the writer's own count of posting and filling dates and need confirmation from human resources. And the statement that new outside supervisors handle incidents more slowly rests on operations staff's reports; incident response times by supervisor tenure would confirm or correct it.

What this part is doingListing unverified claims shows the draft separates what is known from what is still assumed.

References

American Public Transportation Association. (2023). Transit workforce shortage: Root causes, potential solutions, and the way forward.

Ellis, T. J., & Levy, Y. (2008). Framework of problem-based research: A guide for novice researchers on the development of a research-worthy problem. Informing Science, 11, 17-33. https://doi.org/10.28945/438

What the GM599 Unit 3 assignment asks for

In GM599 Unit 3 you draft a problem statement for your capstone. Write one short paragraph each for the organization, the symptom, the consequence and the decision the findings will inform, and give each a figure or a specific fact. Describe the organization only as much as the problem requires. State the symptom with counts or rates and their source. Explain what the symptom costs in the organization's own terms, and use an outside source only to frame it. Name the decision and who makes it, without proposing a solution. Then write a one-sentence purpose statement naming what the project will explain, with what evidence and for what decision. List any claims still unverified and how you will check them. Expect about two pages, citing sources on problem statements and the problem's wider context in APA 7.

How this GM599 Unit 3 example is built

The organization paragraph describes Wexmoor's three garages, 312 operators and 24 road supervisor positions, with their duties on the street. The symptom paragraph gives the drop in internal applicants across sixteen earlier and fourteen recent postings, nine outside hires and median vacancy rising from 41 to 97 days. The consequence paragraph describes incidents handled by dispatch by phone and outside hires learning routes, and cites the American Public Transportation Association's workforce study; the highlighted sentence explains why the timing matters. The decision paragraph names the director of operations' supervisor pay review. A purpose statement names records, a survey and interviews, framed by Ellis and Levy. Two claims to verify close the draft: the vacancy medians, from the writer's own count, and the slower incident handling, from staff reports.

Where the points sit in the GM599 Unit 3 rubric

GM599 rubric points for this draft go to four parts that each carry evidence and a purpose statement that matches them. Instructors check that the organization is described briefly, the symptom with figures and sources, the consequence in the organization's terms and the decision with its owner. Avoiding a proposed solution keeps the project open to its findings. An outside source should frame rather than replace local evidence. A purpose statement naming question, evidence and decision earns credit. Flagging unverified claims shows rigor and is better than presenting estimates as records. Ellis and Levy in Informing Science and the American Public Transportation Association's workforce report provide the citations in APA 7.

Common GM599 Unit 3 mistakes, and how to avoid them

Many GM599 Unit 3 drafts describe the organization at length and state the symptom vaguely, such as morale is low. Others slip a remedy into the draft, which makes later findings look chosen to fit it. A common gap is the consequence: a symptom without its cost in service, money or risk leaves the reader asking why it matters. Some writers present estimates as facts. Write four short paragraphs, organization, symptom, consequence and decision, each with a figure, keep solutions out, add a purpose statement and list the claims you still need to confirm.

Get a GM599 Unit 3 example written to your instructions

Describe the organization, the symptom you have noticed and whatever figures back it up, and attach the problem statement instructions with the rubric. A draft problem statement built on your case gives each element its own paragraph, anchors the symptom in counts and names the decision at stake. Expect the draft within 24-48h; the first one is unbilled. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

More GM599 papers and MS in Management samples

GM599 Unit 3 questions, answered

Should the problem statement propose a solution?

Not yet. Naming a remedy before the evidence is gathered turns the project into advocacy, and later findings then look chosen to fit. This draft names the choice the findings will feed, the supervisor pay review, and stops there. Recommendations belong at the end of the term, after the findings have been reported.

What if my symptom figures are estimates?

Say so and name their source. An estimate from a manager's recollection is weaker than a count from a system, and the statement should rank them honestly. The draft's margin note flags two figures awaiting confirmation, which is acceptable in a draft and far better than presenting a guess as a record.

How long is a problem statement?

Often one to two pages in a draft, sometimes a single paragraph in the final paper. This draft uses four short paragraphs and a purpose sentence. Length matters less than whether each paragraph answers its question with evidence: where, what, why it matters and which decision depends on it.

Where can I find a free GM599 Unit 3 sample paper?

This page carries a full GM599 Unit 3 problem statement draft for a transit capstone, with four evidence-based paragraphs, a purpose statement, unverified claims flagged and APA 7 references.

Which claims does the draft still need to verify?

The median vacancy figures of 41 and 97 days, which come from the writer's own count and need human resources to confirm, and the report that new outside supervisors handle incidents more slowly, which incident data by supervisor tenure could check.