| Course | MT299 Associate's Capstone in Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 5 |
| Paper type | Research summary |
| Length | About 860 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT299 Unit 5
Four Sources, Two Gaps and a Warm Cooler: A Unit 5 Research Summary for Hartwell Florist
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT299: Associate's Capstone in Management
Unit 5 Research Summary
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Hartwell Florist, its records, readings and conversations are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real.
Purpose
This summary reports what the project's sources show about why Hartwell Florist discards about a fifth of its fresh-cut flowers. Each source gets its own block, so that the reader can judge each piece of evidence on its own before seeing how the pieces fit. Saunders et al. (2019) recommend this approach when a study combines data the researcher collected with records created for other purposes, since each has different strengths and weaknesses.
Source 1: The Discard Log
What it is: a one-page daily form kept on the design room counter for four weeks, recording every stem thrown away by type, delivery day and reason.
How it was gathered: the lead designer and the author recorded discards at the end of each day; the shop manager checked the totals against the compost bin twice a week.
What it shows: over four weeks, 2,290 of 10,480 stems received were discarded, about 21.9 percent by count and 22 percent by cost, confirming the preliminary figure. Roses and seasonal filler, such as waxflower and stock, made up nearly half the discarded cost. Thursday stems accounted for about 60 percent.
How much to trust it: high for totals, since they were checked against the bin; moderate for reasons, since "wilted" covers several causes.
Source 2: Invoices and Sales Reports
What it is: twelve months of wholesaler invoices and point-of-sale reports by category.
What it shows: the Thursday standing order has been unchanged at about 1,650 stems for six years. Counter sales are down roughly a third from 2019, and website orders, mostly placed Monday to Wednesday, have grown. The shop now sells fewer stems on Fridays and Saturdays than it buys on Thursdays.
How much to trust it: high; these are the shop's financial records.
Source 3: Cooler Thermometer Readings
What it is: readings from a digital thermometer placed in the walk-in cooler, logged every hour for ten days.
What it shows: the cooler held between 38F and 39F almost all the time, rising to 42F during busy hours when the door was opened often. The Society of American Florists' care and handling guidance recommends keeping most fresh-cut flowers at about 33F to 35F (Society of American Florists, n.d.). Reid and Jiang (2012) explain that respiration and water loss in cut flowers rise sharply with temperature, so a few degrees can shorten their life by days.
How much to trust it: moderate; ten days in one season, one thermometer, but consistent readings.
Source 4: The Wholesaler's Representative
What it is: notes from a twenty-minute conversation with the wholesaler's sales representative, with the owner present.
What it shows: the standing order can be changed every week by Tuesday noon for the Thursday truck, without fees. Smaller orders below a minimum of 600 stems carry a delivery fee of $25.
How much to trust it: high for policies, which the representative confirmed by email.
What Could Not Be Obtained
Two sources were sought and not found. First, no published benchmark for discard rates in small retail florists turned up; industry figures cover growers and wholesalers, not shops. The project therefore cannot say whether 22 percent is high for the industry, only that it is high for this shop's margin. Second, the website vendor would not share order-timing data, so the shift of demand to early-week web orders is inferred from point-of-sale reports rather than measured directly.
The cooler was quietly shortening every flower's life by a day or two.
How the Sources Fit Together
The sources point to two causes. The first, expected, is that the Thursday order is too large for current weekend demand. The second, unexpected, is that a cooler running several degrees warm shortens every stem's life, so even well-sized orders lose more to wilting than they should. The two causes interact: oversized orders sit longer, and in a warm cooler they wilt sooner.
Checking the Findings With the Staff
Before writing the summary, the author walked the manager and lead designer through the two causes. The manager agreed at once about the Thursday order and said she had suspected it for a year but had never had numbers to take to the owner. The lead designer was surprised by the cooler readings; she had assumed the cooler was set correctly because the compressor ran often. Both agreed that roses wilt fastest in the shop's experience, which matches the log. Asking the staff who handle the flowers, Saunders et al. (2019) note, catches errors in interpretation that numbers alone can miss.
Implications for the Options
Any solution should address both causes. An ordering change alone would cut the Thursday surplus but leave the cooler problem. A cooler repair alone would extend flower life but leave too many flowers to sell. The next units will price options for each cause and for both together.
References
Reid, M. S., & Jiang, C.-Z. (2012). Postharvest biology and technology of cut flowers and potted plants. Horticultural Reviews, 40, 1-54. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118351871.ch1
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students (8th ed.). Pearson.
Society of American Florists. (n.d.). Care and handling of cut flowers. https://safnow.org
Reading the MT 299 Unit 5 instructions
The fifth unit asks students to gather and summarize the evidence on their capstone problem. Prompts generally require a mix of internal data, such as records, logs or interviews, and outside sources like studies, industry guidance or textbooks. Many ask how dependable each source is and which questions the evidence leaves open. The summary is meant to inform the options that follow, so it should end with what the findings imply rather than with a recommendation. Instructors value data the student collected directly, provided the method is described: how long, by whom and how it was checked. Organizing the paper by source, or by question, both work if the synthesis at the end is clear. Three to five pages is common, and most sections expect several cited sources in APA format, at least one of them published research or professional guidance.
How the MT 299 Unit 5 example is put together
The summary gives each source a block with the same four parts: what it is, how it was gathered, what it shows and how far to trust it. The discard log comes first, checked twice a week against the compost bin, so its totals rate high and its reasons only moderate. Invoices and sales reports show the unchanged Thursday order beside falling counter sales. Cooler readings are set against the florists' association's care guidance and Reid and Jiang's account of respiration in cut flowers, and a margin note explains how that comparison turns a thermometer into evidence. The wholesaler's Tuesday noon cutoff and $25 small-order fee come from a confirmed conversation. A section names two sources that could not be found. The synthesis presents two interacting causes under a highlighted line about the warm cooler, and a staff check confirms that roses wilt fastest.
MT299 Unit 5 rubric: what earns full points
Research summaries in this capstone are usually scored on the relevance and quality of sources, accuracy of reporting, synthesis and honesty about limits. Relevance means each source speaks to the stated problem; padding with loosely related articles costs more than it earns. Quality credit rises when internal data is described well enough for the reader to judge it, and when at least one published source supports the interpretation. Accurate reporting means figures match the records and are not stretched beyond what they show. Synthesis carries heavy weight, since the unit exists to explain how the pieces fit, and an unexpected finding handled carefully, like the warm cooler, scores well. Many rubrics now reward a statement of what was sought and not found. Walking the findings past the staff who handle the stock is read as rigor. Correct APA citations for the care guidance and the methods text finish the criteria.
Common MT299 Unit 5 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Summaries lose most often when they become a string of article abstracts with no connection to the organization's own data. Another is internal data reported without method, so the instructor cannot tell whether a figure came from a careful count or an estimate. Some students treat every source as equally reliable, or hide gaps by filling them with guesses. Others jump to a recommendation, which belongs to later units and makes the options analysis look predetermined. Leaving out a finding because it complicates the story is risky; graders reward the unexpected cause handled honestly. Before drafting, line up every source you have and write one sentence on how far you would trust it and why. If a source you wanted could not be found, say so and state what that prevents you from concluding. Send your notes, counts and readings, and a summary can be organized from that evidence.
Get an MT299 Unit 5 example written to your instructions
Upload the research you have gathered so far, notes and numbers included, and the research instructions and rubric for Unit 5. The custom summary sorts that evidence by source, rates how far each can be trusted and states plainly what could not be found. It is back within 24-48h, with the first one free. 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.
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MT299 Unit 5 questions, answered
How many sources does the MT299 research summary need?
Rubrics vary, and many ask for a mix of internal records and outside sources. Quality counts more than number. Three or four sources that directly address the problem, with at least one published standard or study, usually outperform ten loosely related articles. Check whether your section requires a minimum count of scholarly or professional references.
Can data I collected myself count as research?
Yes, and in an associate capstone it is often the most valuable evidence. A log, a count, a timed observation or a short set of interviews provides facts about the actual business. Describe how the data was collected, for how long and by whom, so the reader can judge its reliability. Pair it with a published source where possible.
What should the summary say about missing information?
State what could not be obtained, why, and what that prevents you from concluding. A missing benchmark might mean the target cannot be described as typical, only as achievable. Graders generally read this as rigor. Pretending a gap does not exist, or filling it with guesswork presented as fact, is what damages credibility.
Where can I find a free MT299 Unit 5 sample paper?
The complete MT299 Unit 5 research summary is on this page. It rates four sources for a composite florist's waste project, reports two that could not be found, and explains how an oversized Thursday order and a warm cooler work together.
What second cause did the MT299 Unit 5 research summary find?
Hourly thermometer readings showed the walk-in cooler running at 38 to 39 degrees, warmer than the 33 to 35 recommended for most cut flowers. Warmer storage speeds respiration and water loss, so every stem wilted sooner, oversized orders most of all.