Description
Write an Executive Summary (EXSUM) on the case study “The Charge of the Light Brigade” using the NCO Common Core Competency (NCO C3) lenses of Leadership and Communications.Answer the questions: How is the provided case study relevant to the NCO C3 of leadership? How was the NCO C3 of Communications applied (or not applied) to address communication challenges or increase effectiveness? (If it was not applied, provide recommendations based on the NCO C3)After reading the practice case study, write an executive summary using the EXSUM rubric as a guide.
Unformatted Attachment Preview
(UNCLASSIFIED)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
class
date
(U) How is the provided case study relevant to the NCO C3 of leadership? How was the
NCO C3 of Communications applied (or not applied) to address communication
challenges or increase effectiveness?
(U)
name
email
APPROVED BY:
(UNCLASSIFIED)
(UNCLASSIFIED)
References
(UNCLASSIFIED)
How to Write an Executive Summary (EXSUM) Tutorial
Welcome to MLC DL and this is a short, written tutorial on how to write an EXSUM MLC DL style. This is
not like what you might have written in the past (if you are a 35 series MOS), so throw out any experience
you have with EXSUMs and read this before starting. You will be merging the concepts of HQDA Policy
Notice 25-52 (Staff Action Process and Correspondence Policies) and APA 7 to format your EXSUM.
Always make sure you are using the correctly assigned Case Study and NCO Common Core
Competencies (NCO C3) for each EXSUM you do, as failing to use the correct case study or NCO C3
will result in failure. You will do 3 EXSUMs while in MLC; a practice and 2 graded EXSUMs; each
EXSUM will utilize two of competencies so that all six will be used once. After you turn in your Practice
EXSUM during week 1, you will receive feedback from your Facilitator. After that, you will turn in EXSUM
1 during week 2 and EXSUM 2 during week 3. The two graded EXSUMs are worth 10% each for 20% of
your overall GPA in the course. Here is your tutorial on how to write an EXSUM:
1. First, you should download 3 documents to start your EXSUM. You will need the Example EXSUM DL
Format with additional guidance document found above, TC 7-22.7, and the Case Study assigned to
whichever EXSUM you are doing. The Example EXSUM DL Format document has the correct formatting
throughout the document, so do not change the spacing or how the document is laid out or you will lose
points needlessly. Pull up the TC 7-22.7 and the assigned Case Study. Make sure that you are using the
correctly assigned NCO C3 (Leadership, Operations, Communications, Readiness, Program
Management, and Training Management). You will use all of them only once in the course.
2. Next make sure you go to the subject line (underlined portion in all caps) and place the name of the
Case Study assigned into the heading of the EXSUM along with the two assigned NCO C3s. DO NOT
CHANGE THE QUESTION IN THE HEADING AS THAT IS THE ASSIGNMENT AND WILL RESULT IN
FAILURE. You must answer what insights are derived from the case study in regards to the two NCO
C3s. Lastly, you must remove the comments from the Example EXSUM that give instructions before
turning in your submission. That should be obvious, but it happens. If you do not see the comments or
need to remove them, in Word go to “Review” tab at the top where you will find the comments section that
allows you view or remove comments.
3. The EXSUM is divided into 3 sections.
a. First is the NCO C3 section. This is the most important section and will generally make or break
your EXSUM. This is where you break down the two NCO C3s that were assigned. You start
by doctrinally defining them according to TC 7-22.7. You MUST use TC 7-22.7! It must be in your
Reference page for all EXSUMs. Make sure that how you define your two NCO C3 is relevant to
your case study. An example could be Leadership. This is the definition form the TC (p. 2-2): “The
Army relies on NCOs capable of conducting daily operations, executing complex tactical
operations, and making intent-driven decisions. NCOs must lead by example and model
characteristics of the Army Profession. This competency includes: servant leadership, counseling,
coaching and mentoring, the Army ethic, Army values, and character development. It also
includes a thorough understanding of the leadership requirements model (attributes and
competencies), critical thinking, and problem solving.” The entire definition encompasses a lot
and probably more than is relevant to your EXSUM if your case study is on a failed tactical
operation. So consider making your definition that which I highlighted. After you define the NCO
C3 doctrinally according to TC 7-22.7, you move on to breaking it down further in your
explanation. To do this well is to excel at EXSUMs. The easiest way to start this is to scroll down
from the definition section of the TC and go to the roles and responsibilities under the ranks of
SFC or MSG/1SG. You can use any rank you want, as long as it makes sense. Using the ranks
present in MLC, SFC & MSG, will always make sense. So using the Leadership example, here is
what the TC says are the responsibilities of the 1SG/MSG:
Leadership (p. 2-9)
1) Live and demonstrate the attributes and competencies of the leadership requirements model.
2) Exhibit and maintain an atmosphere of respect, adaptability, and resilience.
3) Assess, create, and foster an ethical and positive culture and climate within the organization.
4) Extend influence within and beyond the chain of command to build relationships.
5) Prioritize presence at training and determine daily the most important place to be within the
organization.
6) Communicate and drive the commander’s vision and intent by serving as the conduit between
the commander and Soldiers.
7) Recognize disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent through competency based
talent management.
8) Strengthen the characteristics of trust, honorable service, military expertise and esprit de corps
through stewardship of the Army Profession.
9) Coach and foster servant leadership through effective counseling and development.
As you can see there are 9 different roles/responsibilities assigned to the MSG/1SG within the
scope of Leadership. You should pick ONE or TWO of these max and use them as the crux of
your position on the NCO C3 of Leadership and they need to connect well with the case study. A
good example would be to use #6 if your case study is about a failed operation in which
subordinates didn’t understand the commander’s intent. Your NCO C3 section would start by
defining Leadership and then break down leadership into how NCOs support Leadership through
understanding and disseminating the commander’s intent in order to drive tactical operations. The
idea is to focus your NCO C3 section to a single concept or point that forms your position such
as, the importance of the commander’s intent, importance of shared understanding, or the
importance of talent management for three examples. You would only ever use one of them and
they would result in the preponderance of what you break down and explain in your NCO C3
section. Remember, always use doctrine to form the basis of your NCO C3 section. Nothing you
have ever done will lend you the credibility that doctrine does. You should never have first person
nouns or narrative in your EXSUM (There should be absolutely no I, us, we, or our). Every
sentence that you take information from a source should be cited IAW APA 7. YOU CANNOT
TAKE INFORMATION FORM A SOURCE, WRITE FOUR SENTENCES AND JUST CITE THE
LAST ONE OR JUST THE FIRST ONE. YOU MUST CITE EACH SENTENCE THAT CONTAINS
INFORMATION FROM A SOURCE. I do not care if you already know the information, citing gives
credibility to your information. It tells the reader that if you do not believe me, you can look it up
here. The only thing you do not cite is your own analysis or common knowledge. Always
remember, I do not care if there are no NCOs in the case study, all EXSUMs are about the NCO
C3 of Leadership, Operations, and etc… and must focus on our roles and responsibilities so you
MUST use TC 7-22.7 as a reference every time and you will NEVER use the NCO C3 Poster as a
reference.
b. Next is the Brief Synopsis. In your NCO C3 section you gave your position (such as the
commander’s intent is critical for tactical operations) and the Brief Synopsis is where you give the
evidence to prove that position. You should only take specifics from the case study that support
your case. If what you are writing about the case study has nothing to do with the NCO C3 you
are using, take it out! The EXSUM is a max of 1 page here in MLC DL. That does not give you
any room for superfluous information. The Brief Synopsis section should only contain specific
information, not general. Example would be if the case study describes a battle, you would not
say, “The battle went poorly because leaders failed to give their subordinates the commander’s
intent.” Instead, you would say, “SGT Leary received his orders from LT Gains but didn’t not
understand what he was supposed to do or why he was supposed to do it and subsequently
attacked the wrong position at the wrong moment in battle.” The first sentence is just a
generalization that requires the reader to actually go read the case study to understand what you
are refereeing to while the second gives you a clear example of how key leaders failed to give
and understand the commander’s intent. Remember to be specific, be brief, and always cite
information from the case study that is not your own analysis.
c.
The Summary and Answer is the last section. It begins with the transitional statement, “The
insights gained from the case study are…” and should contain no new information. This is where
you summarize your position and the evidence you used to prove it. There should be no in-text
citations in the summary. It has three parts and should look something like this: The insights
gained are that due to the ineffective Communication within “The Charge of the Light
Brigade” case study, the leadership failed to corroborate, provide detailed guidance, thus,
subsequently wasting time, directly resulting in the loss of essential territory and over 350
casualties on the battlefield (Positional Statement, How/Why, The Results). The biggest
thing to remember in the summary is that if the information was not part of the NCO C3 section or
the Brief Synopsis, it should not suddenly appear in the summary. There is no “pulling a rabbit out
of a hat” to impress the reader. The insights are not secrets; they are just what you described
throughout the EXSUM. You can imagine how often this part is messed up since I spent so much
time writing about it down here repeatedly.
4. Grammar, Spelling, Formatting, passive voice, and APA 7 errors all count against you and quickly add
up. Make sure you turn on your editor to catch errors. Go to File, options, proofing, then the writing style
button and make sure grammar and style are selected. Then go into the setting button next to grammar
and style and select all of the boxes. On newer version of word the button is renamed grammar and
refinements but it is the same thing.
5. You must study and understand how to format, cite, and create a Reference page using APA 7. Citing
a quote versus a paraphrase changes the format and makes a difference. Use the APA 7 handouts to
study up on your APA 7 or you will lose many points needlessly.
6. Here are some other reminders:
a. You must have 3 references according to the rubric for max points.
b. You must have two transitions. One from the NCO C3 section to the Brief Synopsis and should
go something like, “In the case study, The Charge of the Light Brigade, …” The second transition
is from the Brief Synopsis to the Summary and Answer Section. It should go something like, “The
insights gained from The Charge of the Light Brigade case study are that…”
c. Although the EXSUM addresses 2 NCO C3s and 2 questions, write no more than 1 page for
your EXSUM length (not including reference page). Therefore, if you go over you will lose
points from the Organization section of the rubric. The best EXSUMs are not the ones with the
most words, but the ones with best-chosen words. Adding superfluous information will cause you
to lose points.
d. All sentences that are not common knowledge or 100% your own analysis must be cited using
correct APA 7 in-text citations in all sections of the EXSUM. If you cited something once then you
can freely use the information without having to re-cite it again.
e. Know the difference between a paraphrase and a quote. A paraphrase is to use someone else’s
information in your own words and quoting is to use someone else’s information using their
EXACT words. The in-text citation for a quote is different from a paraphrased sentence.
f. The case studies should be cited using the author given or if they do not then you should use
Headquarters, Department of the Army as the author. Always form the acronym for long titles
representing authors in the reference page and not in the in-text citation. An example of this is
available in your Example EXSUM DL Format with additional guidance document.
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
