| Course | MT299 Associate's Capstone in Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 6 |
| Paper type | Seminar reflection |
| Length | About 800 words, 5 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 6
Why Not Buy Fewer Flowers: A Unit 6 Seminar Reflection on a Waste Plan and the Funeral Order It Missed
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT299: Associate's Capstone in Management
Unit 6 Seminar Reflection
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Hartwell Florist, its plan, the classmates and every figure are composite and illustrative; classmates are described by role; the sources cited are real.
The Plan as I Presented It
I presented the plan I had built from the research: resize the Thursday order with a par sheet, a list of target quantities for each stem type based on recent sales; repair the walk-in cooler so it holds 33 to 35 degrees instead of 38 to 39; and aim for discarded flowers near 13 percent of purchases, down from about 22. I showed the discard log, the invoices and the cooler readings, and I expected questions about the numbers. Saunders et al. (2019) encourage presenting emerging findings to others before finalizing them, because outsiders test assumptions that a researcher inside the setting no longer notices.
The Questions
The questions came from three directions, and none was about the numbers.
A classmate who works as a produce clerk at a grocery store asked why the shop did not put flowers that were close to wilting into a markdown bin, the way her store sells bruised fruit. I had not considered it. The shop sells only full-price arrangements and bunches, and nobody had asked whether a cheaper bunch at the counter might sell before a stem went to compost.
A classmate who manages a restaurant asked how a par sheet would handle surprises. In his kitchen, par levels work for steady items and fail on the night a large party walks in. He asked what Hartwell's large party was. I said a funeral, and that led to the third question.
Our instructor asked what it would cost the shop to turn away one funeral order because the cooler held too few white flowers. I knew the answer from working the counter: a family that is turned away at the worst moment of its year does not come back, and neither do the funeral home's next three referrals. Sympathy work is 31 percent of sales.
Some flowers are wasted on purpose, because they are there for the call that has not come yet.
What Changed
My plan had treated every unsold stem as waste to be eliminated. The seminar showed me that part of the shop's unsold stock is insurance. White and green flowers, roses, lilies and greenery, are kept on hand because sympathy orders arrive with a day's notice and cannot be refused. If the par sheet cut those along with everything else, the shop would save money until the first funeral it could not fill.
So I revised the plan. The par sheet will include a defined sympathy reserve, a fixed quantity of white and green stems kept on hand at all times, sized from the past year's sympathy orders. Stems from the reserve that age out before being used will be counted separately, as a planned cost, not as waste. The target of 13 percent will apply to everything else. Heizer et al. (2020) describe safety stock as a deliberate buffer against uncertain demand, and the sympathy reserve is a florist's version of it.
How the Reserve Will Be Sized
The next morning I pulled the point-of-sale reports again. Over the past year, the shop filled an average of about 11 sympathy orders a week, with as many as 19 in the busiest week, and each standing spray or casket piece used roughly 40 to 60 white or green stems. A reserve of about 300 stems, mostly white roses, lilies and greenery, would cover a heavy week's first two days until the Monday or Thursday truck arrives. That is a little over a tenth of a typical week's 2,600 stems. Counting it separately means the waste target can be strict without putting the shop's most important customers at risk.
What I Still Believe, and What Is Left
I still believe the Thursday order is too large; nothing in the seminar challenged the invoice and sales evidence. I still believe the cooler must be repaired; a warm cooler shortens the life of every flower, including the reserve.
One question is left for the options analysis: the markdown idea. Selling aging stems in cheap Saturday bunches might recover money, but it might also draw customers away from full-price bunches. That needs to be priced, not guessed. Scarborough and Cornwall (2019) caution that small businesses often adopt discounting without measuring what it takes from full-price sales, and I want to avoid that.
The seminar's biggest lesson for me was that people outside the business asked better questions about its purpose than I did from inside it.
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.
Scarborough, N. M., & Cornwall, J. R. (2019). Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management (9th ed.). Pearson.
MT299 Unit 6 instructions, in plain terms
Unit 6 centers on a live seminar where students present their emerging capstone plans and field questions, followed by a written reflection. Prompts usually ask what was presented, what questions or feedback came up, what the student learned, how the plan will change and what remains unresolved. Students who miss the seminar typically complete a written alternative that responds to the material in a similar way. The reflection is personal in voice but professional in content, so first person is expected while the substance stays on the project and its evidence. Instructors want to see the plan tested, which means at least one change traced to a specific question. A page and a half to three pages is common, organized by short headings or a clear chronological flow, with a source or two cited in APA style where an idea from the course helps explain the change.
Inside the MT299 Unit 6 example
The reflection begins with the plan exactly as presented, so the reader can see what the seminar challenged. A section on the questions gives each of three speakers a short paragraph, identified by role rather than name: the produce clerk with her markdown bin, the restaurant manager with his large-party problem and the instructor with the cost of a refused funeral order. A highlighted line then states the insight, that some stock is wasted on purpose. The change section turns that insight into a defined sympathy reserve counted apart from the waste target, linked to Heizer's account of safety stock. A sizing paragraph uses the shop's own records, around 11 sympathy orders a week and 40 to 60 stems each, to reach roughly 300 stems. The closing section separates beliefs that survived from the open markdown question, citing Scarborough and Cornwall on discounting that eats full-price sales.
Where the points sit in the MT299 Unit 6 rubric
Seminar reflections are usually marked on participation evidence, depth of reflection, application to the project and writing. Participation credit comes from showing the seminar actually happened to you: specific questions, who asked them and how you answered. Depth means going beyond what was said to what it revealed, and rubrics favor a reflection that admits a flaw over one that reports universal agreement. Application is often the heaviest criterion, rewarding a concrete change in the plan with numbers attached, like the florist's reserve sized from past orders. Instructors also credit a clear account of what stayed the same and why, since not every question should change a plan. Naming an unresolved question for the options unit shows the reflection is connected to the project's sequence. Professional tone, organized paragraphs and correctly cited sources for any concepts used complete the marks in most sections of this capstone.
MT299 Unit 6 help: mistakes that cost points
The reflection most often marked down is a summary of the seminar session with no change to the plan. Another weak pattern is a page about nerves or presentation skills, which rarely meets the application criterion. Some students list every comment received without choosing the one that mattered. Others accept a suggestion uncritically and rebuild the project around it, when the stronger move is to test it in a later unit, as the florist does with markdown bunches. Vague changes, such as considering customer needs more, earn little; a revised measure or a new constraint with a figure earns much more. After the seminar, jot down the two questions that bothered you most and what in your data could answer them. If you missed the live session, check the alternative assignment's length and elements first. Bring the questions you remember and your plan, and a reflection can be drafted around them.
Get an MT299 Unit 6 example written to your instructions
Recall the plan you presented and the questions you remember from the seminar, then attach the reflection prompt with its rubric. A custom reflection written around that session shows what held, what changed and why, in the project's own numbers. Your first one is free, delivered 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.
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MT299 Unit 6 questions, answered
What if I could not attend the live seminar?
Most sections offer a written alternative, which usually asks you to respond to the seminar material or a recording and apply it to your project. The same standard applies: show how the ideas tested your plan and what you changed. Check the alternative assignment's instructions, since its length and required elements can differ from the reflection itself.
Is it acceptable to admit my plan had a flaw?
It is usually the strongest thing a capstone reflection can do. Instructors reward evidence that feedback improved the project, and a flaw found in Unit 6 costs far less than one found in the final report. Present the flaw specifically, show the change it produced, and keep the parts of the plan that survived the questioning.
How personal should a seminar reflection be?
Personal in voice, professional in content. First person is expected, and describing your initial reaction to a question is fine, but the substance should stay on the project and the evidence. A reflection centered on feelings about presenting rarely meets the rubric, while one centered on how the plan changed nearly always does.
Where can I find a free MT299 Unit 6 sample paper?
This page has the complete MT299 Unit 6 seminar reflection. It records three questions about a composite florist's waste plan and shows how the instructor's funeral-order question produced a separately counted reserve of about 300 stems.
How was the sympathy reserve sized in the MT299 Unit 6 reflection?
From the shop's own sales history: about 11 sympathy orders in an average week, up to 19 in the busiest, at 40 to 60 stems each. A reserve near 300 stems covers a heavy week's first two days until the next wholesaler truck.