The informational interview involves meeting and interviewing an entrepreneur, business owner, or financial professional to gather information.
This could be a real interview or a hypothetical one (however it must address a real business) as long as all questions and answers are done using business concepts and methodologies.
Required Elements to include in the Informational Interview Write Up:
Students are responsible for developing questions that will garner the responses necessary to address the key elements of the assignment.
Include all of the following elements in your interview report:
The type and nature of the business (products/services offered) and the scope of the business (whether it is local in nature, national, or international in scope);
Why did the person decide to go into business, and how he/she proceeded?
The business form (is the business is operated as a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation--even an individual can form a corporation--a franchise, etc.) and the particular advantages and disadvantages of that form from the owner's perspective when compared with other forms he/she might have chosen;
The challenges and rewards of business ownership;
The business owner's position on ethical behavior and responsibility;
The impact of each environment of business (economic, competitive, technological, legal, and global) on the company and the owners response;
The owners strategy for gaining and maintaining new business opportunities;
Keys to success, from the owner's perspective;
What the person would do differently if he/she had it to do all over again.
Critically assess the current status of the business based on concepts presented in class. What would you say is the future for this business? Would you invest in this business? Why or why not?
· Interview questions must be included as an addendum to the assignment; however, these should not be counted toward the length requirement of the paper.
Required Formatting of Informational Interview Report:
This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and three to five pages in length excluding the title page and reference page;
Title page;
Introductory paragraph and a summary paragraph;
Use headings;
Write in the third person;
Use APA formatting for in-text citations and a reference page. You are expected to paraphrase and not use quotes. Deductions will be taken when quotes are used and found to be unnecessary;