TESU BSBA Capstone Time Commitment

[hrriggs03]

Hi!

I start my capstone tomorrow and I am getting really anxious about the unknown. On average how much time did you spend reading the materials and doing the weekly case assignments?

Did you complete the final written paper over 12 weeks of did you do it the last couple?

Any other advice?

Hoping once I get started that I can ease my nerves!!

Thank you!

[Merlin]

Hi!

I start my capstone tomorrow and I am getting really anxious about the unknown. On average how much time did you spend reading the materials and doing the weekly case assignments?

Did you complete the final written paper over 12 weeks of did you do it the last couple?

Any other advice?

Hoping once I get started that I can ease my nerves!!

Thank you!

I'm in the same boat. I've been getting myself worked up over all the writing, plus I've never done a course with case studies. I've managed to complete the readings for the first three chapters and started on the fourth, but now that we have assignment details I'm trying to wrap my head around doing the case studies.

I've scoured the message forum for tips and advice from folks who've taken the course before, and I've received some great feedback from helpful members as well. The mentor just sent me a note in response to some direct questions I sent him too, so I'm starting to feel a bit more confident about the course.

Hopefully, once the first few assignments are complete, the anxiety will fade and we can spend our time enjoying learning about strategic management!

FYI, from what I've gathered, it is perfectly acceptable to work ahead and write up all the discussion assignments and case studies early, so you have more time to work on the final project. You don't have to follow the weekly schedule other than making sure you don't turn in anything late without prior arrangement. That was one of my many questions, and I think that will help a lot given the upcoming holidays; once I am confident on how to do the case studies anyway.

Good luck!

[hrriggs03]

Thanks for your reply! I was wondering if we were able to work ahead. Did you do all of that reading this weekend?? If so, that makes me feel better! My book arrives tomorrow so I have no idea how long the reading even if yet!

[Merlin]

Thanks for your reply! I was wondering if we were able to work ahead. Did you do all of that reading this weekend?? If so, that makes me feel better! My book arrives tomorrow so I have no idea how long the reading even if yet!

I received my book last Wednesday, so I've been trying to tackle a chapter a day since then, including taking notes. The chapters are not too hard to get through quickly. The first two chapters are 44 pages combined, and most of the following chapters are roughly 30-40 pages each (including the summary details at the end). The harder part is the note-taking, which I'm terrible at so I was going overboard and creating a summary rather than notes, which took a long time. I'm going try to be more efficient moving forward.

I didn't actually do any readings over the weekend. I spent most of that time with family, but in the evenings I focused on prep work. I spent most of my free time reading through all the course materials and setting up OneNote with a course calendar, adding the syllabus, assignments, rubric, and study notes. I also set some time aside to read through the case analysis guide and the first case study in the book to get an idea of what we're in for.

I've already posted my introduction and responded to a couple others, so tonight I'm planning to re-read the first case study and see if I can't knock that out over the next day or two.

[dfrecore]

I sat down and read the chapter, and took notes, in a single sitting each week. It took maybe 2 hours max. I was reading for comprehension, rather than trying to get through it quickly - then notes, trying to make lists, etc. I took longer than I would have on another course I think.

The case studies were definitely my favorite part of the course. Interesting to read and noodle through, and then writing about them and giving my opinion on things was fun. That took maybe 2-3 hours a week.

The discussion questions were my least favorite, took maybe another 1-2 hours. So maybe 5-7 hours a week.

I did not start on my final paper until near the end, which was a mistake. Here's my advice: choose one of the 3 scenarios. Pick one. It doesn't matter if you know a single thing about it, if you care, whatever. Just choose and move on. THEN, start doing research immediately. Find 5-10 websites with info, bookmark them, and have them ready to go. You can start on the paper when you want (you may want to do some case studies and discussion questions first, and get graded, so you can tell if you're on the right track). Then start, sooner rather than later (maybe halfway through the course, after you do the midterm).

Also, schedule out your time. I knew when everything was due, I had it tacked to my wall, and I tried to stay at least a week ahead in terms of starting on things. That way, if something happened, I could get things done in a single day early in the week, or spread it out if necessary - but I wasn't scrambling last minute.

[hrriggs03]

This is awesome feedback. Thank you!!