DBAX 9101C Week 2 Client Problem Statement Example

Course	DBAX 9101C Business Consulting Research Project Stage 1
Week	Week 2
Paper type	Client statement
Length	About 790 words, 5 pages
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Walden University
Program	Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for DBAX 9101C Week 2

In the Client's Own Words First: A Client Problem Statement for a Milwaukee Commercial Printer, Recording Three Leaders' Accounts Verbatim Before Any Paraphrase Can Bend Them

Student Name

Walden University

DBAX 9101C: Business Consulting Research Project Stage 1

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title commits to verbatim recording, because paraphrase is where a consulting study first bends its client's problem.

In the Client's Own Words First: A Client Problem Statement for a Milwaukee Commercial Printer, Recording Three Leaders' Accounts Verbatim Before Any Paraphrase Can Bend Them

Why Record the Words

Paraphrase is the first place a consulting study bends its client's problem, usually without the consultant noticing. Each restatement smooths a phrase, drops a qualifier or adds an assumption the client never made. By the time a problem reaches a research question, it may describe what the consultant expected to find rather than what the client said. Block (2011) argues that a consultant's first task is to understand the problem as the client experiences it, because a client who does not recognize the problem in the consultant's words will not act on the findings. This paper records three accounts word for word, from the president, the vice president of sales and one salesperson, before any restatement.

What this page is doingThe paper explains why verbatim recording comes first, since every later restatement will be checked against it.

The Accounts

Table 1

Three Accounts of the Problem, Verbatim

Who	Setting	Words \|
President, second-generation owner	Kickoff meeting, with the vice president present	"We bought the digital press to stay alive. Three years later it's running at maybe a third of what we planned, and offset keeps shrinking." \|
Vice president of sales, the sponsor	Kickoff meeting	"Our salespeople cannot sell digital. We need people who understand it." \|
Senior salesperson, 22 years with the firm	Hallway conversation after the kickoff, shared with permission	"Nobody I call on buys that stuff. My guy buys paper and ink. The marketing people are somewhere else in the building." \|

Recorded in notes during or immediately after each conversation and read back to each speaker for accuracy.

What Each Account Contains

The president's account describes an outcome and a strategic motive. It contains a clear figure, a press "running at maybe a third" of plan, and a framing: the investment was about survival, not growth. It names no cause.

The vice president's account names a cause and points toward a remedy. It locates the problem in the salespeople's capability. It does not mention customers, pricing or compensation.

The salesperson's account names a different cause. It locates the problem in who the salespeople can reach: the print buyer, who buys "paper and ink," rather than the marketing staff who might buy campaigns. That account fits a pattern Tuli et al. (2007) described, in which solutions depend on relationships with different people in the customer firm than products do.

What this page is doingEach account is read for what it asserts, what it assumes and what it leaves out, without yet judging which is right.

Where the Accounts Agree and Differ

All three agree that digital revenue is well below plan. They differ on why. The vice president sees a capability gap; the salesperson sees an access gap. The president, notably, does not choose between them. Recording the differences now prevents the study from adopting the sponsor's account simply because the sponsor commissioned the work.

The Figures Behind the Accounts

The firm's records give the outcome in numbers. Revenue last year was about $14 million, of which offset printing contributed roughly 78 percent, falling about 4 percent in each of the past five years. Digital and marketing services, which the firm calls its digital group, brought in about $1.1 million against a planned $3 million. Of 412 active accounts, 61 bought at least one digital service last year.

Voices Not Yet Recorded

Three accounts are not enough. The digital services manager, who runs the press and the small team that designs campaigns, has not yet been asked, and that person sees every digital job from quote to delivery. The controller sets the commission rates and could say why services pay less than print. And no customer has been asked at all. Before the restatement is final, I will record at least the digital services manager's and the controller's accounts in the same verbatim form, and I will ask the vice president to introduce me to two customers who buy both print and digital services. Each new account will be added to the table, not merged into the existing ones, so the differences remain visible.

How the Record Will Be Kept

Every account goes into a dated log with the speaker's role, the setting and whether the speaker approved the wording. When a speaker later revises what they said, both versions stay in the log. That record protects the client as much as the study, since it lets anyone check later whether the problem drifted.

What Comes Next

These verbatim accounts will be the reference point for every later restatement. When I write the researchable version of the problem next week, I will check each key term against these words and note where the restatement departs from them and why. Schein (1999) describes the consultant's early role as helping the client see the situation more clearly, not supplying an answer; keeping the client's words in view is part of that discipline.

References

Block, P. (2011). Flawless consulting: A guide to getting your expertise used (3rd ed.). Pfeiffer.

Schein, E. H. (1999). Process consultation revisited: Building the helping relationship. Addison-Wesley.

Tuli, K. R., Kohli, A. K., & Bharadwaj, S. G. (2007). Rethinking customer solutions: From product bundles to relational processes. Journal of Marketing, 71(3), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.71.3.001

Reading the DBAX 9101C Week 2 instructions

Week 2 asks you to record your client's problem in the client's own words. Explain why verbatim recording comes before any restatement. Gather accounts from at least three people in different roles, noting when and where each was given, and confirm each wording with the speaker. Present the accounts in a table. Read each for what it asserts, assumes and leaves out, without judging which is right. Note where the accounts agree and differ. Add the key figures from the client's records. Identify voices you have not yet recorded and plan to add them. Close by explaining how this record will be used to check every later restatement of the problem.

How this DBAX 9101C Week 2 example is built

The paper opens by explaining how paraphrase bends problems, citing Block. A table gives the president's, vice president's and salesperson's words with settings. A section reads each account: an outcome and motive, a capability cause and an access cause, the last linked to Tuli and colleagues. A section notes the shared dissatisfaction and the split on cause. A section reports revenue, the offset decline and the 61 of 412 accounts buying digital services. A section names the digital services manager, controller and customers as voices still missing. A section describes a dated log. A closing section cites Schein on helping the client see clearly. The table records the setting of each account, since a hallway remark and a formal meeting carry different weight.

Reading the DBAX 9101C Week 2 rubric

The core expectation is fidelity to the client's words. Verbatim accounts from several roles, confirmed with each speaker, carry the most weight. Reading each account for assertions and omissions without choosing a winner shows discipline. Noting where accounts conflict demonstrates that the study will not simply adopt the sponsor's view. Supporting figures from records anchor the statement. Naming missing voices shows awareness of whose view is absent. A plan for keeping the record shows professionalism. Statements that paraphrase from memory, include only the sponsor or blend accounts into one summary lose credit, because they remove the evidence later weeks depend on. Reading each account back to its speaker is a step many skip and faculty notice.

DBAX 9101C Week 2 help: mistakes that cost marks

Bring a notebook to every early conversation and write the speaker's key sentences exactly, then read them back. Ask at least three people in different roles to describe the problem in their own words, including someone who does not report to your sponsor. Put the accounts side by side and resist the urge to decide who is right. Notice what each person never mentions. Many students write the client statement from memory after several meetings, which quietly merges everyone's view into the sponsor's. Others interview only the people the sponsor suggests. A dated log of accounts protects you later when the problem seems to have shifted. Setting up such a log, and reading accounts for their gaps, is work our writers can share with you.

Get a DBAX 9101C Week 2 example written to your instructions

Share the Week 2 prompt and rubric and describe, in general terms, who at your client organization raised the problem. A client statement with dated, role-attributed quotations and a glossary, built around an invented firm, is ready in 24-48h at no cost the first time. Your client's real words stay with you; the sample's quotations are composed and labeled that way.

More DBAX 9101C papers and DBA samples

DBAX 9101C Week 2 questions, answered

Where can I find a free DBAX 9101C Week 2 sample paper?

The client statement and its table of verbatim accounts can be read below at no cost.

Whose words does the DBAX 9101C Week 2 statement record?

The president, the vice president of sales and a senior salesperson.

How do the accounts differ?

One names an outcome, one a capability gap and one an access gap.

How many accounts buy digital services?

61 of 412 active accounts.

Which voices are still missing?

The digital services manager, the controller and customers.