Individual Paper 

A short research paper is required as part of the course objectives. 

Topic:  Each student is responsible for selecting a topic for the research paper from one of the topics in the below list.

As you select a topic for your paper, perform some preliminary research to find an aspect that is personally interesting to you. Next, work to narrow the topic substantially so that it will fit the page requirements. Common ways to limit the topic include selecting a specific industry, limiting geography (e.g. not an entire state, but a region or metro area within a state), considering a type of product, and domestic or even local, instead of international logistics. If you are not able to narrow a topic sufficiently, select another topic from the list. Do not select a topic or write a paper that you have used in a previous course.

Select a topic from the list below, but add actual organizations to the topic and research those organizations/those occurrences relating to the topic for your paper. For example, for topic no. 1 below, you could modify the topic to be: Recognizing the importance of strategic logistical issues and their relationship to attainment of supply chain objectives at the McDonalds Corporation.  Or for topic number 2, select a public, private, and non-profit organization to research. [Helpful tip: Research BEFORE you pick your topic to ensure that there is material available with which to write the paper. If you do not perform research in advance, you could find yourself scrambling to get the paper submitted in time.]

Topic List (pick one of these and modify it per the above directions): 

1. Recognize the importance of strategic logistical issues and their relationship to attainment of supply chain objectives. 

2. Measure the environmental forces, trends, and strategic issues facing organizations in both the public, private and non-profit sectors so that students can devise logistics strategies that can deal with these circumstances. 

3. Apply the evolving concepts of supply chain management and how the logistics function is expanding into a larger and more proactive role in managing the complete materials cycle. Students will be challenged to devise logistics strategies that mutually support the organization’s marketing and financial efforts. 

4. Recognize the importance of internal and external partnering and how logistics organizations are devising strategies where logistics plays a key role within the organization. 

5. Devise logistics strategies that consider overall cost of ownership, quality, best value, and optimal inventory objectives. 

6. Devise logistics strategies for use of third-party logistics service providers for fulfilling requirements. 

7. Recognize trends in international logistics and what factors logistics professionals should consider in planning international logistics options. 

8. Apply the broader responsibilities of logistics so that they can contribute to ethical organizational practices, meeting environmental objectives, and improve the attainment of socio-economic programs. 

9. Devise a futuristic perspective of what logistics will be like in the next century by examining trends and research on the knowledge and skill requirements for the logistics in the next decade. 

10. Recognize the importance of logistics in dealing with natural and humanitarian disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina or war. 

Length: The paper should be no less than 5 pages and no more than 8 pages in length (this is for the body only and does not include the cover page, table of contents or reference page). There will not be points deducted if the paper runs slightly over 8 pages. However, keep the page length reasonable. The paper should be typed, double-spaced using a standard typeface. Please use a 10 to 12-point font (use your judgment based upon the font selected) and use 1-inch margins.