| Course | MT299 Associate's Capstone in Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 1 |
| Paper type | Discussion board post |
| Length | About 420 words, 2 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 discussion post |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT299 Unit 1
Three Questions and a Compost Bin: Unit 1 Discussion on Choosing a Capstone That Fits Ten Units
MT299 · Unit 1 Discussion Board Post
Posted by [Student Name]
Hartwell Florist, its people, figures and the classmates are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real.
Initial Post
I work the counter on weekends at Hartwell Florist, a second-generation shop in Kalamazoo with eight people, one delivery van and a walk-in cooler. The owner has agreed to let me use the shop for my capstone, and she suggested three questions.
A second storefront: would need a market study, a lease and financing; the facts are partly reachable; a recommendation could not be carried out before the term ends
A rebuilt website: would need the current site's traffic and order data; the facts are held by the website vendor, who has not agreed to share them; a recommendation could be carried out
Flower waste: would need counts of discarded stems and the shop's purchase records; the facts are reachable, since the owner keeps every invoice; a recommendation could be carried out within weeks
The second storefront is too large for ten units. The website depends on data I cannot get. Flower waste passes all three tests. Every Monday the compost bin behind the design room fills with roses, lilies and filler that wilted before anyone bought them, and nobody has counted how much.
Saunders et al. (2019) advise that a good research question is one the researcher can answer with the access and time available, and that a narrow, answerable question produces more useful findings than an ambitious one that stalls. Heizer et al. (2020) treat perishable inventory as one of the clearest cases where ordering decisions show up directly as cost.
The best capstone question is the one I can count before the term is over.
My question: how much of the fresh-cut flowers Hartwell buys is thrown away, and how can the shop buy and store them so less is wasted without turning away customers? The first number I need is how many stems are discarded each week, and from which delivery.
Reply to Andrea
Andrea, your question about your clinic's patient no-shows sounds measurable, which is good. Will the clinic share its scheduling data, or will you need to collect it yourself?
Reply to Brian
Brian, a new loyalty program for your gym could take longer than ten units to show results, since members renew yearly. Could you narrow it to something you can measure in a month, like trial-pass conversions?
References
Heizer, J., Render, B., & Munson, C. (2020). Operations management: Sustainability and supply chain management (13th ed.). Pearson.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students (8th ed.). Pearson.
What the MT299 Unit 1 assignment asks for
The opening unit asks each student to name an organization and a question that the remaining nine units will answer. Most prompts want two or three candidate questions rather than one, a reason for the preferred choice and a word on access: who will share figures and which records already exist. Because every later assignment builds on this decision, from the Unit 2 proposal through the Unit 10 report, the post is really a feasibility check written in discussion form. Instructors look for a question small enough to finish, specific enough to measure and tied to a decision somebody at the organization actually faces. Replies to two classmates are expected, and they earn more when they question scope or data access than when they only encourage. Around 300 words for the initial post, roughly 100 for each reply and one or two course readings cited in APA style fit most sections.
Inside the MT299 Unit 1 example
The florist post starts with the writer's own place in the shop, weekend counter work, which explains why the owner will open her invoices to a student. Three candidates follow as a short list, each judged on the same three points: what answering it needs, whether its facts can be reached and whether its recommendation could be carried out within the term. The storefront fails on time and the website on data, because the site vendor controls the traffic figures. Flower waste passes all three, and the post admits it is a modest subject. Saunders and colleagues support choosing the narrow question, and the operations text explains why wilted stock shows up straight away as cost. A highlighted line makes counting before the term ends the real test. The last paragraph states the question in one sentence and names the first figure needed: stems discarded each week, by delivery.
Where the points sit in the MT299 Unit 1 rubric
Discussion rubrics in this capstone usually weigh the initial post, the substance of the replies and the mechanics, citations included. In the initial post the marks follow visible thinking about feasibility, so a comparison of candidates with a stated reason outscores an enthusiastic description of one idea. Graders also check that the question leads somewhere, because a project that only describes a business has no recommendation to make by the final unit. Replies collect credit when they sharpen a classmate's plan, for instance by asking whether a clinic will release its scheduling data or whether a gym's yearly renewal cycle can show results in ten weeks. Timing matters too; many sections want the first post by midweek and the replies before the unit closes. A course reading cited in APA style, with a reference that matches the citation, satisfies the source criterion most instructors apply to this first post.
MT299 Unit 1 help from the desk
The proposal returned most often is one sized for a consultant with a year, such as an expansion plan or a new brand. A second trap is choosing a large employer studied only from its public website, which leaves nothing to analyze by the research unit. Some posts name a topic, customer service for example, without saying what would be counted or compared. Others skip the access question entirely, and the Unit 2 proposal stalls when the owner declines to share records. Replies that only praise a classmate's idea add little the instructor can score, so ask one concrete question in each. When your shortlist is still loose, write beside each candidate the first record you would need and the person who holds it; the idea you could start measuring this week is usually the one to keep. Our team can draft a comparison like the florist's around the businesses you can actually reach.
Get an MT299 Unit 1 example written to your instructions
Describe the business you have in mind, or two or three you could reach, with the Unit 1 discussion prompt exactly as posted and its rubric. A custom post compares those candidates on whether ten units could close them and includes replies when your section scores them. The first sample is free, and it arrives within 24-48h. 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 MT299 papers and BS in Business Administration samples
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MT299 Unit 1 questions, answered
Does the MT299 capstone business have to be my employer?
Not necessarily, though access matters more than anything else in this course. A family business, a place where you volunteer or a small company whose owner will answer questions all work. What rarely works is a large company studied only from its website, because the project needs figures and conversations that outsiders cannot get.
How small is too small for a capstone question?
Very few questions are too small, as long as the answer requires evidence and leads to a recommendation someone could act on. A question answerable in one conversation is too thin. One that needs a few weeks of records, a comparison of options and a cost estimate usually fits an associate capstone well.
Should the Unit 1 post already name one question?
Many prompts ask for candidates rather than a final choice, so comparing two or three is common and often expected. Ending with a preferred question and a reason still helps, because the proposal in the next unit will need one. Your instructor's feedback on the post can then shape the proposal before anything is committed.
Where can I find a free MT299 Unit 1 sample paper?
The complete MT299 Unit 1 discussion board post is on this page, along with two classmate replies. It compares three capstone questions for a composite flower shop and shows why counting discarded stems beat a second storefront and a new website.
Why did the florist post reject the website question in MT299 Unit 1?
The traffic and order data belonged to the shop's website vendor, who had not agreed to share it. A question whose facts cannot be reached fails no matter how small it is, so the post set it aside for the flower waste question.