Department of Canadian Heritage: Supervising and Regulating Canadian Cultural Industries

Your term paper will be a case study on ONE cultural industry organization. You have a choice of three kinds of organizations (Topics A-C), and each requires you to investigate the chosen organization in some depth, to gain an understanding of its operations and contributions to the wider cultural industries within the context of a particular country (for example Canada).
A case study is a little different from other forms of academic papers you will commonly have to write for other classes. Rather than making an argument or a thesis, you are analyzing an organization, a problem or an issue. It involves you understanding in-depth the structure, operations and interests of the organization and its impact on the wider media/cultural industries and society. If they publish annual reports, then consult and use the annual reports as part of your research, you are also encouraged to use public statements such as press releases and interviews for your analysis. You want to find as much empirical data as you can, as that will help you understand the organization and the role it plays in the context of a particular national cultural industry. In writing your case study, you are encouraged to consider and incorporate the concepts introduced within this course (for example: innovation, economics of scale, audience-making, disruption, glocalization). You are also encouraged to use existing scholarly literature for your paper which deal with the organization you are analyzing.
In choosing a subject, you need to make sure you have access to sufficient resources before committing yourself to a particular topic. You should do some preliminary research first before settling on a topic to ensure you are able to find sufficient appropriate sources. In any case, you should do some literature research on existing scholarly case studies on the organization and you should integrate these works, if available, in your paper. You are encouraged to use graphics such as charts of organizational structure, if that will strengthen your study, but be sure to reference all figures appropriately.
Requirements:
Between 2000-3000 words, excluding title page and bibliography
Minimum of 5 industry/organizational sources | online trade sources are acceptable for this case study, but make sure your sources are drawn from a range of high-quality sources (i.e., while you are permitted to use websites, make sure they are of reputable sources)
Minimum of 5 academic sources | course readings are acceptable but extra literature will improve your mark
Papers that only use the minimum number of sources are likely to receive the maximum of a C+. You are strongly encouraged to go beyond the minimum guidelines in the number of sources used.
Recommended format:
Please, choose ONE of the following topics to indicate the type of organization you are going to analyse in your case study.
Topic A: Media or Cultural Organization
For this, topic students pick an organization from within the media or cultural industries. This can be any organization involved into the production and/ or distribution of contents, such as public service broadcaster (CBC in Canada, BBC in the UK), digital born media such as the Huffington Post, commercial publishers such as The New York Times or The Globe and Mail, a local news organization such as the Vancouver Courier, a production company such as Ubisoft or Netflix, etc.
Topic B: Regulatory/Policy/Funding Organization
For this topic, students pick a regulatory or policy organization, responsible for supervising and regulating the Canadian cultural industries. Students can also choose agencies responsible for regulating the cultural industries in other countries, as long as they speak the according languages. Regulatory/Policy/Funding organizations steer the actions of organizations in the cultural industries and constitute the frame in which these organizations operate. Examples include CRTC, Department of Canadian Heritage, Canada Council, Telefilm Canada, FCC, Ofcom, etc.
Topic C: Media/Cultural Advocacy Organization
For this topic, students pick a media/cultural advocacy organization active in Canada or elsewhere in the world. In Canada, examples include OpenMedia, the Independent Media Arts Alliance, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, Women in Film and Television, Canadian Association of Black Journalists, etc.
Case Study Task:
After you choose the organizational type and the specific organization you are going to analyze, the task is to conduct an analysis of a past or recent moment of change the organization has been dealing with. Moments of change are particular challenges or issues an organization is facing and which might lead the organization to discuss or introduce significant changes which can be of a) structural b) monetary c) technical d) strategic nature. These types of change are not exclusive to each other and can overlap.
Case Study Contents:
This structure helps students to write their paper. The wording of the titles can be amended, according to the specifics of the case study. However, it is highly recommended to use the overall structure to facilitate analytical clarity and soundness.
Executive Summary (ca. 250 words)
Students resume the aims, methods, key points and findings of the case study.
Introduction (ca. 200 words)
Students introduce into the case study and explain the relevance of their analysis to the reader. Students link this particular case study to the wider climate of the industrial realm and outline shortly the structure of their paper.
Literature review (ca. 400 words)
In this section, students need to show that they read widely around the industry realm, the type of organization and that they understood the concepts and wider theoretical considerations regarding cultural industries, regulatory concerns, market or organizational theories we discussed in the course. Students should pick one core concept that fits the organizational development they will analyze and explain the concept, using scholarly literature.
Description of industrial context (ca. 200 words)
Students support their work with documentary sources. This might include financial data, policy frameworks that steer the industrial context, information on competitors, distinctive characteristics of this particular realm of cultural industries.
Description of organizational context (ca. 600 words)
Students support their work with documentary sources. This might include reports written by the organization, press releases, public interviews and speeches given by representatives of your organization, etc.
Analysis of a moment of change (ca. 800 words)
Students support their work with documentary sources such as reports written by the organization, press releases, public interviews and speeches given by representatives of your organization, etc.
Make sure your work fits within the theoretical framework you have set out in the literature review
Describe the issue or challenge the organization has been facing
Describe the nature of the change(s) being discussed. This might be a) structural b) monetary c) strategic d) technical and there can be overlaps between the different types
Trace the different stakeholders involved into the discussions in this moment of change and present the different arguments/solutions presented by each stakeholder.
Reference where and when the positions have been presented, by whom and in which context. What were main conflicts?
Did the organization reach a solution? (If yes: which solution has been reached? If not: what were the main reasons for failure?)
Conclusion (ca. 300 words)
These are aspects students could come back to in their conclusions:
In which ways did the organization deal with the challenge/issue at hand, did it emphasize continuity or change?
Which factors that hindered or fostered change inside the organization can you detect from the material you analyzed? What does your case study add to existing literature?
How does your case study help to understand the concept you introduced in the literature review?
What general assumptions can you make regarding organizational change, deriving from your analysis?