Deconstructing a News Article on Mergers and Acquisitions: Assignment

Task:

WEEK  2’S ASSIGNMENTThisweek’s assignment has  you deconstructa news,  magazine,  or similar  articlerelated to  a mergers and acquisition  topic you have encountered, thus  far,  in the course.  For example,  if you read a Depression-eranewsarticle about  bank  regulation,  you will  find its assumptionsregarding capital  requirementswill  not  help you address the problems  facing twenty-first-centurybanks.   Therefore, it is essentialto  understand how  to deconstruct an article, grapple  with  its utility,  and possibly  transform  it  into a  relevant modern study or perspective.You  may  be asking, Why do I need  to learn about deconstruction?The ability  to deconstruct an  argument  or article is an  important  skill  for understanding whether information  is relevantand trustworthy.   Determining whether a finding,  concept, or another element of an  article remains  relevantand trustworthy offers a chance to  build sound arguments  using  previous research, find research topics,  and wrangle  with  decision and  policy processes relying upon a  mixture of concepts and data.   Such opportunities  avail  you to  the argumentand  its counterarguments surrounding research, business,  and academic  problems while enhancing  your critical thinking  skills.   In essence, you will  have the chance to  develop a  skill allowing  you  to see more than one side of an  argument

WEEK  2’S ASSIGNMENTThisweek’s assignment has  youdeconstructanews,  magazine,  or similar  articlerelated to  a mergers and acquisition  topic you have encountered, thus  far,  in the course.  For example,  if you read a Depression-eranewsarticle about  bank  regulation,  you will  find its assumptionsregarding capital  requirementswill  not  help you address the problems  facing twenty-first-centurybanks.   Therefore, it is essentialto  understand how  to deconstruct an article, grapple  with  its utility,  and possibly  transform  it  into a  relevant modern study or perspective.You  may  be asking, Why do I need  to learn about deconstruction?The ability  to deconstruct an  argument  or article is an  important  skill  for understanding whether information  is relevantand trustworthy.   Determining whether a finding,  concept, or another element of an  article remains  relevantand trustworthy offers a chance to  build sound arguments  using  previous research, find research topics,  and wrangle  with  decision and  policy processes relying upon a  mixture of concepts and data.   Such opportunities  avail  you to  the argumentand  its counterarguments surrounding research, business,  and academic  problems while enhancing  your critical thinking  skills.   In essence, you will  have the chance to  develop a  skill allowing  you  to see more than one side of an  argument.TH E  O B JEC TIVEYour objective is to  produce a 3-page APA-formatted  deconstruction of a  news, magazine,  or similar  article related to a  mergers and acquisition  topic you have encountered, thus  far,  in the course.  (The  reference and title  pages do not  count toward  the page  count requirement.)Step 1.Embark  on  this objective by finding  one news,  magazine,  or similar  article related to a  mergers and acquisition  topic you have encountered, thus  far,  in the course.  You  may  wish  to begin the  search using  the following  sites:•https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournal s/topic/ mergers-and-acquisition s•https://www.rand.org/•https://www.nytimes.com/top ic/subject/mergers-acquisition s-and-dives titures•https://business.financialpost.com/tag/ mergers-and-acquisi tions•http://www.mandaportal.co m/•https://techcrunch.com/tag/mergers-and-acquisitions/•http://fortune.com/tag/mergers-and-acquisitions/•https://imaa-institute.org/mergers-and-acquisi tions-s tatistics/You  may  choose any  news, magazine,  or similar  article you find interesting;  however, it  should relateto  a mergers and acquisition  topic you have  encountered, thus far,  in the course.  Also, ensure you choose an article with  substantial  content  you believe could be subject to  critical thinking  and scrutiny. Step 2. After finding a  news, magazine,  or similar  article (or source), read the  source and take  notes regarding:•Important  keywords and  jargon

•The big  ideas driving the source

•The implicit  and explicit assumptionsmotivating  the source

•Interesting  relationships appearingin the source

•Aspects of the source which  strike you as noteworthy  or problematicIf you  need help taking  notes,  then consider this  strategy.

Step 3. Now  ask  yourself the following  questions, Where  did the  author of the  source  go wrong?   What is the weaknessin the source?If you  need inspiration,  try asking yourself the following  questions:•Does the author  provide a  summary  of the  larger problem under study and  the specific topic/problem under investigation? •Is  the problem significant  from  a practical or applied perspective?•Does the author fail to support their position/thoughtsusing other sources?•Is  the source or author biased?   If so,  how?•Identify  assumptions  that  are stated  explicitly by the author. Do you  agree? What  implicitassumptions  exist?Are they acceptable?•Does the author  rely on data  or use their intuition?   Does the  presented data  make  sense?•Does the author  make a well-supported conclusion?Why or why  not?•Does the author  acknowledge other viewpoints?Step 4.Articulate the oneweakness  using 2-3 sentences as an  appendix to your notes.At this  point, you should have extensive notes about  the source and have torn it  down (or deconstructed  it)  into itspartsand one weakness. Step 5.Now  it  is time  to  write the 3-page APA-formatted  deconstruction essay!   There is  no correct  methodfor writing  a deconstructive essay,  but most  deconstructive essayists  tend to follow  these steps:•One introductory  paragraph serving to  introduce the essay  while concluding upon the thesis statement  stating  the weakness(articulated  in Step 4) of the source.•One paragraph  explaining  the utility  and appropriateness  of deconstruction to this  assignmentand exposing the weakness.•The body of the  essay should be dedicated to a  discussion demonstrating  the weakness  you found in the source.•After clearly articulating  and discussing  the weakness,  offer one recommendationhelping fix the weakness  in the source.  (You should consider citing 2-3 additional  sourcesto support  your recommendation.)•A short segment  discussing  how your recommendation  improves the source and what  you learned while engaging  this  assignment.