MGMT 8900M Week 9 Peer Critique Example

Course	MGMT 8900M Prospectus Development and Alignment
Week	Week 9
Paper type	Peer critique
Length	About 500 words, 3 pages
Format	Discussion reply, APA 7 citations
School	Walden University
Program	PhD in Management
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for MGMT 8900M Week 9

Week 9 Discussion: Testing Alignment With a Counter-Study

A Counter-Study for Each Classmate: Two Peer Critiques That Quote a Prospectus's Problem, Purpose and Question Word for Word, Sketch a Study That Satisfies One Statement While Missing Another, and Propose One Tightening Word

Response to Priya

Priya, here are your three statements as posted. Problem: "School districts are losing newly hired bus drivers within their first year, leaving routes uncovered." Purpose: "This qualitative study will explore the recruitment practices of school district transportation directors." Question: "How do transportation directors recruit bus drivers?"

Here is a counter-study that would fulfill your purpose without touching your problem: a survey of transportation directors about their satisfaction with the recruitment vendors and job boards they use. It would explore their recruitment practices, as your purpose promises, and answer your question. But it would say nothing about why drivers leave in their first year. The loose join is between problem and purpose. Recruitment and early departure are different events, one before hire and one after. Newman and Covrig (2013) argued that the key terms of a study's problem, purpose and questions should match so that each statement can be traced to the others; here the key event changes between the first and second statements.

One tightening word: replace "recruitment" with "retention" in the purpose and question, or, if recruitment is what interests you, change the problem to concern unfilled positions rather than early departures. Is there a better word than retention for what directors do in a driver's first year? You may find one in your sources.

What this page is doingThe critique quotes all three statements first, so the counter-study is built from the classmate's own words.

Response to Marcus

Marcus, your statements read: Problem: "Boutique marketing agencies often lose clients after an account manager resigns, but how agencies try to keep those clients is not understood." Purpose: "Through a multiple case study, I will explore how agency owners try to retain clients after an account manager leaves." Question: "What factors predict whether a client stays with an agency after its account manager resigns?"

Your problem and purpose fit well. The counter-study here works the other way. A survey of several hundred former clients, measuring tenure, contract size and how quickly a new manager was assigned, could identify which factors predict that a client stays, and so would answer your question. It would not explore how owners try to retain clients, so your purpose would remain unmet. The failing join is between purpose and question. Your question asks for predictors, which is a quantitative question; your purpose asks how owners act, which is a qualitative one. Maxwell (2013) describes the parts of a qualitative design as interacting, and a question that pulls toward measurement will pull the methods with it.

One tightening word: change "factors predict" to "do owners describe," giving "How do agency owners describe their efforts to retain clients after an account manager resigns?" Can you find a better verb than describe? Ellis and Levy (2008) suggest that the research question should follow from the problem and its stated gap, and your problem already uses the word "try," which may be the most precise verb you have.

What this page is doingThe second critique runs the same test on a different join, which shows the method finds whichever seam is loose.

References

Ellis, T. J., & Levy, Y. (2008). Framework of problem-based research: A guide for novice researchers on the development of a research-worthy problem. Informing Science: The International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, 11, 17-33. https://doi.org/10.28945/438

Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). SAGE.

Newman, I., & Covrig, D. M. (2013). Building consistency between title, problem statement, purpose, & research questions to improve the quality of research plans and reports. New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development, 25(1), 70-79. https://doi.org/10.1002/nha.20009

Reading the MGMT 8900M Week 9 instructions

For the Week 9 discussion, write two critiques, one per classmate. In each, set out the classmate's problem, purpose and question word for word. Then sketch a counter-study: a study that would satisfy one of the statements while missing another. Use it to name the join that fails, problem to purpose or purpose to question, and explain why. Cite one source that supports the alignment principle you are applying. Propose one tightening word, a single change that would repair the join, and invite the classmate to find a better word from their own sources. Keep each critique to about two hundred and fifty words, and do not comment on the topic's interest or the classmate's writing style.

Inside the MGMT 8900M Week 9 example

Priya's critique quotes her three statements, then describes a vendor-satisfaction survey that would meet her recruitment purpose but say nothing about first-year departures. It names the failing join as problem to purpose, since recruitment and leaving are different events, cites Newman and Covrig on shared key terms and proposes retention as the tightening word. Marcus's critique quotes his statements, notes that his problem and purpose fit, and describes a former-client survey that would answer his predictor question without exploring how owners act. It names purpose to question as the failing join, cites Maxwell on interacting design parts, proposes describe in place of factors predict and suggests try from his own problem, citing Ellis and Levy.

Reading the MGMT 8900M Week 9 rubric

Each critique earns most of its credit from the counter-study. Graders look for one specific enough to show which statement it satisfies and which it misses, since that is what makes the failing join visible. Quoting the classmate's statements exactly is required. The join must be named correctly. The tightening word is judged on whether it would actually repair the join with minimal change. Inviting the classmate to improve on it shows the collaborative spirit the course expects. Critiques that offer general advice instead of a counter-study, that propose rewriting all three statements or that comment on the topic's value instead of its alignment score lower, as does a pair of critiques that names the same join without checking.

MGMT 8900M Week 9 help: mistakes that cost marks

Copy your classmate's three statements into a document and underline the population, event and verb in each. Then ask: what is the cheapest study that would satisfy the purpose? Does it address the problem? What study would answer the question? Does it achieve the purpose? The answer that comes back "no" shows the failing join. Describe that counter-study in two sentences. For the tightening word, change as little as possible; often one noun or verb is enough. Offer it as a suggestion and invite a better choice. Keep your tone collegial. A tutor can help you design a counter-study for a prospectus that seems aligned, and the Priya and Marcus critiques above show the move twice.

Get a MGMT 8900M Week 9 example written to your instructions

Both classmate posts you are answering are needed, along with the Week 9 critique prompt and rubric. Replies that build a counter-study against each draft's actual sentences return in 24-48h, and the first set is free. The counter-studies are argued only from what each classmate posted, never from guesses about their setting or their employer.

More MGMT 8900M papers and PhD in Management samples

MGMT 8900M Week 9 questions, answered

Where can I find a free MGMT 8900M Week 9 sample paper?

Both critiques, to Priya and to Marcus, are printed above with margin notes.

What is a counter-study in the MGMT 8900M Week 9 sample?

A study that would satisfy one of a classmate's statements while missing another, exposing the loose join.

Which join fails in Priya's prospectus?

Problem to purpose, since recruitment and leaving in the first year are different events.

What word does the critique suggest for Marcus?

Describe in place of factors predict, or perhaps try, which already appears in his problem.

Should a critique comment on the topic?

No; it tests alignment and leaves the topic's interest alone.