1. Topic, Focus, and Thesis Advanced Inquiry Spring 2006

2. Topic A single noun or phrase that names the area of inquiry: –Economics –Economics and social values –Economic metaphors for human nature –Economic metaphors for human nature from 1776 to 2000 –Economic metaphors for human propensities to accumulate wealth from Adam Smith to Peter Drucker

3. Focus A way of entering the topic through a question or angle of inquiry –How economic metaphors appear in popular business management texts –How the assumption that we treat supervisor & employee as investments affects management practices –How do economic metaphors appear in popular business management texts? –How do the assumptions about work relationships as investments affect management practices.

4. Thesis Statement It is a group of complete sentences that make a claim. It defines your point of view. It confines the scope of your paper. It tells you what must be in your paper.

5. Topic, Focus, Thesis I am writing about economic metaphors in popular culture. I will demonstrate how economic metaphors influence how managers perceive their employees and shape policy. Adam Smith’s metaphor of the ‘invisible hand’ does not appear directly in management texts, but the underlying idea that each of us naturally acts out of self-interest does. Smith’s metaphor, and by extension management texts, limits creativity in management practices.

6. Does this define a point of view? What does it exclude from the paper? What does it require be included?

7. Adam Smith’s metaphor of the ‘invisible hand’ does not appear directly in management texts, but the underlying idea that each of us naturally acts out of self-interest does. Smith’s metaphor, and by extension management texts, limits creativity in management practices. Section 1: What is Adam Smith’s metaphor of the ‘invisible hand’ ? Section 2: What versions or ideas from this metaphor appear in management texts? Section 3: How are management practices limited by this?