MGT5000 Managing Organisational Behaviour:
This page is for the Evaluator’s Use Only
MGT5000 Managing Organisational Behaviour: Assign 2 marking sheet (2015)
CRITERIA
F > 50%
C 50 – 64%
B 65 – 74%
A 75 – 84%
HD 85%<
Mark
Content Weighting: 80%
Understanding and interpretation of assignment question:
Inadequate understanding & interpretation of questions/ misconception of the questions
Very basic understanding of the questions
Sufficient/satisfactory understanding and interpretation/n of questions
Very good understanding and interpretation of the questions
Unequivocal understanding and interpretation of questions
Mark out of 30
< 15
15 – 19
19 ½ – 22
22 ½ – 25
25 ½ – 30
22
Critical analysis
No evidence of critical analysis
Response relies on restating major themes from sources; little evidence of critical analysis
Some evidence of critical analysis
Critical analysis of sources/ critical appraisal of evidence and sources
Highly developed critical analysis and assessment of sources
Mark out of 20
< 10
10 – 12 ½
13 – 14 ½
15 – 16 ½
17 – 20
16
Research
Insufficient research/very limited sources/ sources used but not appropriate or relevant to the issue being discussed
Limited research on the relevant themes/ minimal effort to obtain original material evident/ relies on restating major themes from sources
Sufficient research is displayed on relevant themes/ evidence that original material obtained but little depth
Thorough research on the topic/ evidence of both original material and good effort to obtain relevant theoretical information
Display broad and in-depth research of the topic/ original material is the result of in depth investigation
Mark out of 15
<7 ½
7 ½ – 9
9 ½ – 11
11 ½ – 12 ½
13 – 15
12
Interpretation and application of theory
Incorrect or poor interpretation and application of theory
Marginal interpretation and application of theories
Adequate interpretation and application of theories
Clear and appropriate interpretation and application of theory
Excellent interpretation and application theories
Mark out of 15
<7 ½
7 ½ – 9
9 ½ – 11
11 ½ – 12 ½
13 – 15
12
Technical Weighting: 20%
Presentation
Written expression
Structure
Academic referencing
Poorly presented; Gross spelling & grammatical errors; No structure/no evidence of structure; Incorrect referencing
Average presentation of assignment; Basic understanding of rules of grammar however spelling and syntax, errors still occur; Some evidence of structure and progression in argument. Basic academic referencing
Well-presented assignment; Some evidence of fluency in writing, Sufficient structuring although internal problems may still be evident; Satisfactory level of referencing yet inconsistencies in referencing exist
Very good presentation; Clear and fluent writing/ clear structuring of ideas and paragraphing; Good structure; Very good referencing;
Excellent presentation; Well-constructed and crafted piece of work; a pleasure to read/ Excellent structure/Excellent and correct referencing throughout the assignment
Mark out of 20
<10
10 – 12 ½
13 – 14 ½
15 – 16 ½
17 – 20
13
Total marks out of 100
75
Evaluator’s comments:
Shinyeong Kang, you have done a good job. Your scenario was very well explained and you applied the theory throughout the assignment in a logical way.
You need to add references in your table of recommendations and this was also not presented as explained in class and according to the examples given to you. You lost marks here. Some extend of critical analysis was present.
Your paper showed considerable promise and it can sometimes take more than one semester to learn all the tricks for presenting a good paper. Good luck for the exams.
Task 1 – The Scenario
I work at Victoria University in Melbourne. It was during the end of the year and the vice chancellor in the University requested all departments to take the initiative of coming up with new leaders in the departments, students leaders and representatives. The current leaders in the school came up with the initiative of the all the deans, head of departments and student leaders hold meetings with their respective teams to begin the exercise as fast as possible. The key activities involved developing a series of elections from the proposed individuals who would lead in the following year.
The meetings were held at different times whereby the leaders were required to inform the members of the different groups of the purpose of the meetings and what they are required to do. The first phase of the meetings was completed after the leaders in the teams announced that the year is ending and new leaders for the school need to be elected in the respective departments. This left the leadership positions vacant and were announced that new leaders to be elected. The second phase began with the new individuals being selected to fill the new vacant positions.
New elections began with each group making decisions on who will lead them in the following year. I was in the faculty of commerce department whereby we were selecting the dean faculty of commerce and the head of department. All members in the group came up with different suggestions on how the leaders were to be selected. Some of them suggested that election of individuals would be done through rising of hand for those supporting a specific individual for the particular position. Others suggested that a ballot box would be the most suitable method of carrying out the election. Others said that the faculty leaders will be elected through picking of written numbers with which each of the individual will pick a written number beginning with one to five. The person picking number one will be the dean faculty of commerce and the second will be the head of the department. The former head of department suggested that leaders of the faculty be elected based on merit. Those who have worked for the school and in the department for a long time would be given the first priority to be elected as leaders.
The different suggestions caused conflicts among the members because different members supported different candidates. A crisis arose when the election could not continue because the group members could not agree. The members were not willing to participate in the election since it became difficult to elect their choice of leader. They seemed not motivated in electing the officials since they would not come up with a suggestion that they would agree on. This became a huge problem for the department since the members of the faculty could not carry out the elections as required. The elections were postponed as solutions to the problem were taken to the board for discussion on amicable way of carrying elections of leaders in the school.
Task 2 – A critical analysis of the scenario
Motivation: Motivational Theories
Wood et al., (2013, p.81) defines motivation as the forces of work that come within a person and are said to account for the level of direction, persistence as well as level of effort that is expended in the work. Motivation involves having willingness to perform within organizations. Motivational theories explain what drives employees or individuals in an organization to have a willingness of performing their tasks. In the scenario described in task one; there are two motivational theories that are related to the described event. They include the expectancy theory as well as the McClelland’s Theory of Needs theory.
The expectancy theory of motivation assumes that the behaviors of people in an organization are as a result of conscious choices that exist among alternatives. These choices are made by individuals to serve the purpose of maximizing pleasure as well as minimizing pain. The main elements of the expectancy theory are expectancy, instrumentality as well as valence. The Vroom’s theory considers that individuals will be motivated when the expected outcomes in the performance are achieved (Griffin & Moorhead 2008, p.102). Individuals in the organization usually elect in the pursuit of the level that serves to generate the greatest reward for them. The probability of a task to give the expected results will motivate an employee to perform that task. When the perceived outcomes are not attainable, then an individual is seen not motivated to perform a specific task.
Considering the scenario at hand, the expectancy theory applies in the tasks that the group members in the faculty were required to do. The group members seem not motivated to take part in the election exercise since their choice of leaders may not be the ones who would win the votes. Their disagreement made them not wanting to participate in the elections. They all want their suggestion of voting method to be used when electing the leaders. When not considered, they are demotivated and make them not having a willingness to participate in the election.
The McClelland’s Theory of Needs/Achievement motivation theory states that people are usually driven by three motives when performing their tasks within an organization including affiliation, influence as well as achievement (Miner 2015, p.46). Achievement is the capacity of individuals in taking the responsibility to find solutions to problems, master tasks that are complex, set goals as well as receive feedback on the success level. Affiliation is an individuals’ desire of belonging, enjoyment of teamwork, interpersonal relationship concerns as well as the need of reducing uncertainty. Power is the drive of controlling as well as influencing others, the need of winning arguments, persuading and prevailing. If individuals in an organization, groups or teams are not able to achieve these motives, then, they are demotivated to perform.
This theory applies in the scenario of electing leaders at the Victoria University whereby the individual motives of the various members of the group were not met and they became reluctant to take part in the election exercise.
Group Dynamics
Group dynamics are described as the forces/influential processes that usually operate in groups and impacts in the performance of the group as well as satisfaction of its members (Forsyth 2009, p.1). Group’s dynamics is evident in the scenario of electing leaders in the organization. Individuals among the group usually interact whereby the actions of the members are influenced by others. There is need for understanding the behavior of all individuals in the group to avoid conflicts occurring among the members (Nazzaro & Strazzabosco 2009, p.5). Group’s behavior is considered of prime importance in group dynamics. Considering the scenario, group members in the various faculties were experiencing group dynamics. The faculty of commerce members experienced conflicts as a result of group dynamics. Different members had different views on how the election of leaders was supposed to be carried out.
A group is defined as comprised of two or more individuals interacting interdependently and coming together for the purpose of achieving specific objectives (Forsyth 2006, p.3). In an organization there can be formal and informal groups. In the scenario at Victoria University, the institution comprises of both formal and informal groups. The groups in the various faculties are formal because they are created for the purpose achieving specific objectives in the University. For example, the faculty of commerce consists of group members from the department who come together for the purpose of planning and making decisions that are related to the department. In the event of elections, the group members were aimed at achieving the objective of selecting leaders who would lead the faculty in the following year.
Toseland & Rivas (2005, p.65) describe that groups dynamics usually influence the behavior of individual members in the group as well as the group as a whole. Group dynamics can be explained using models of group dynamics like the Homan’s model and the Bales system. The models are relevant to the functioning of groups within an organization. The Homan’s model describes that a groups comprises of several elements including activity, interaction and sentiment. The University scenario, the groups that were created had an activity to undertake. The current activity was to elect leaders. They interacted during the election and the members had different sentiments in their views of how the elections should be done. The compatibility of the elements determines the group effectiveness. In our scenario, the elements of interactions, activities and sentiments were not compatible hence effectiveness in the group in achieving the set objective was affected.
Regarding the bale system, the group behavior in the scenario can be analyzed using the Bales system. It provides twelve categories with which the group behavior can be analyzed as either belonging to the task area of the social emotional area. In the questions asked task and answers attempted task area, the activities in the election scenario in the university can be categorized as asks suggestion and gives suggestion group behavior. In the social emotional area, the group behavior can be describe as negative reactions because the members were in conflict and not able to agree on one suggestion. Using the model, one is able to analyze the dynamics in the group and identify the cause of the problems within the functioning of the group.
Communication
The scenario at the Victoria University can be analyzed in relation to communication in groups. From the election scenario of the faculty to select new leaders, one can describe that there was no effective communication among the group members. It is clear that, lack of communication within the group led to conflict among the group members and the elections were postponed because of the disagreement among the members.
Communication in groups is affected by different factors. Therefore, it is important for group members to understand that communication in the group may be complex and they need to carefully organize themselves so as to avoid negative impact on the group outputs. When electing their leaders, members in the faculty of commerce did not consider the importance of effective communication among the group members. This is why a disagreement occurred and the elections were nit undertaken.
Better communication on groups is achieved when the members consider it meaningful, listen and share, are decisive and negotiate (Shaw 2000, p.1). In the scenario, it is evident that better communication was not achieved among the group members in the faculty of commerce. The communication seemed not meaningful because every member had their suggestions and wanted them to be considered for election. The members did not give the meeting initial time for discussion on the activities that were taking place. Even though the members were given the opportunity to participate in the election process they did not achieve satisfaction in the communication process. Each group member was not flexible with the suggestion they made and a problem of arriving at a final decision was a problem.
In group communication, members are required to have an understanding of the inhibiting factors. Gorse, McKinney, Shepherd & Whitehead (2006, p.916) denote that members should identify the need for strong ties and any social distractions that may influence effective communication. Good communication in groups is inhibited by how much the group members speak, to whom they speak, whether they speak openly or defensively and how much they hear. The faculty of commerce group members seemed to be inhibited by these factors during their group communication. The members spoke more than they listened to one another. They spoke defensively with each demanding their suggestion to be considered as the appropriate method of carrying out the elections. This inhibited the group members from arriving at a consensus and a conflict was inevitable.
In group communication, the level of communication usually depends on the personal needs of individuals as well as goals compared to the needs and goals of the group. It also depends on personal identity, role as well as image within the group, group cohesiveness and morale (Enayati 2002, p.77). The influence and control of power, intimacy, and acceptance by the other group members also determines the level of group communication. In the election of leader’s scenario in the Victoria University, there was a low level of communication among the group members of the faculty of commerce within the institution. The group members were more concerned with individual needs and goals rather that the group needs and goals.
Task 3 – Table of Recommendations
Table 1: Actions that need to be take to manage motivation, group dynamics and communication
Motivation
Group Dynamics
Communication
To manage motivation within the scenario of electing leaders it is recommended that;
First achieve individual motivation of the group members
Take all members suggestions as important
Encourage high level of interaction and openness among the group members when discussing the issue
Develop a team spirit within the group to encourage commitment among the team members
Ensure members understand the goals of the group and work towards achieving the goals
Interaction among the group members to be compatible with the task or activity at hand
To improve group functioning/dynamics there is need to;
Encourage positive interactions among group members
Avoid member competition in the group
Have a knowledge of behaviour within the group and how to reinforce positive group behaviour
Encourage member group cohesiveness
Set clear group norms that should be adhered by all members
Set rules and procedures that are appropriate and necessary in controlling the occurrence of conflicts and decision making in the group
Attention should be given to the whole situation considering the tasks as well as the group members
To improve communication in the scenario there is need for;
Encouraging group members to have a focus on group goals and not individual goals
Having a carful organization of the group and its members
Plan group meetings earlier in advance before the major meeting for the elections
Allow all members to participate in the election process
Encourage flexibility in the suggestions made
Advise group members not to remain rigid with their suggestions
Encouraging group members to ensure group think and arrive at a consensus
List of References
Enayati, J, 2002, The Research: Effective Communication and Decision-making in Diverse Groups, Multi Stakeholder Processes.
Forsyth, D, 2006, Group Dynamics, 4th Edition, Thomson Wadsworth.
Forsyth, D, 2009, Group Dynamics, 5th Edition, Cengage Learning.
Gorse, C., McKinney, I., Shepherd, A., & Whitehead, P, 2006, Meetings: factors that affect group interaction and performance, In: Boyd, D (Ed) Procs 22nd Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2006, Birmingham, UK, Association of Researchers in Construction Management, pp.915-923.
Griffin, R., & Moorhead, G, 2008, Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations, 10th Edition, Cengage Learning.
Miner, J, 2015, Organizational Behavior 1: Essential Theories of Motivation and Leadership, Routledge.
Nazzaro, A., & Strazzabosco, J, 2009, Group Dynamics and Team Building, World Federation of Hemophilia.
Shaw, G, 2000, Effective Communication for Groups, Laurier Student Leadership Center.
Toseland, R., & Rivas, R, 2005, Chapter 3: Understanding Group Dynamics, An Introduction to Group Work Practice, Pearson.
Wood, J., Zeffane, R., Fromholtz, M., Wiesner, R., Morrison, R., & Seet, P, 2013, Organisational behaviour: core concepts and applications, 3rd Australasian edn, John Wiley & Sons Australia, Milton, Qld.
Note to students: Since the table below is based on another case study (where students considered ‘attitudes and perceptions’, this is just an example of how to present Task 2 and in no way suggests answers to the current case study.
Task 3: Table of Recommendations
Managing Attitudes and Perceptions
ACTIONS
Rationale
Introduce a Peer Assistance Network (PAN) to assist collegial networking and support
Introduction of a Peer Assistance Network (PAN) as an advisory exchange would be appropriate as PBA do not have a dedicated HR advocate. Employees are selected to act as quasi-counsellors, hence process is based on peer to peer interaction conducted in-house. This concept is similar to an ‘Employee Assistance Program’ and provides feedback opportunities on personal and work related issues, such as work-load stress, discrimination and emotional problems (MGT8030 Performance Management & People Development 2008).
Develop and implement reward programs to offer an motivational incentive
Due to feelings of negativity, management should be aware of the link between attitudes and potential behaviour. Unfavourable attitudes may progress from the ‘affective’ to the ‘behavioural’ component catalysing staff resignations, costing the company financially, hence reward programs manage attitudes long term, help value congruence, and create mutual respect. Another effective way to manage attitudes is by measuring job satisfaction via corporate attitude surveys to gain feedback on issues of advancement opportunities, working conditions, freedom of initiative, rewards and recognition, cooperation, and leadership credibility, just to name a few areas for investigation (Wood et al. 2006).
Conduct attitude surveys to assess the collective well-being of staff.
Attitude surveys identify the missing links between staff ‘attitudes’ and ‘behaviours’ and aid in creating goals and objectives to move an organisation forward, hence feedback and action planning should follow any survey implementation (Carey & Warner 2002). Additionally, 360º feedback tools that rate performance via peer to peer, manager to peer etc, can be used to identify gaps to develop employees, hence contributing to personal satisfaction and empowerment (Cawley et al. in Tovey & Uren 2006)
Implement and select key players for a leadership coaching program
Leadership coaching is required from the Senior Partner to drive change, navigate strategic direction, retain talent, enhance relationships and build stamina for sustained developmental learning (Australian Growth Coaching 2003). For this to occur the Senior Partner needs to learn about coaching and mentoring himself as even though he holds the main managerial position, management is only about climbing the ladder efficiently. Leadership is knowing you are leaning the ladder against the right wall (Covey 1989).
MGT5000 Managing Organisational Behaviour: Assessment details for 2016 S1
Summary of assessment items
Description
Marks out of
Wtg(%)
Due date
Assignment 1: Online quiz
100
5
29/03/16*
Assignment 2: Written assignment
100
45
26/04/16*
2-hour examination
50
50
S1 Exam period
* All students are advised that these are the revised dates due to public holidays falling on the original due dates appearing in the S1 course specifications.
The examination
Task:
A restricted exam: students will be permitted to take into the exam an unmarked, paper based English translation dictionary.
Weight:
Marked out of 50 and worth 50% of total assessment
Relevant Modules:
Modules 2; 6; 7; 8; 9 and 10
Due date:
S1 examination period
Instructions:
Navigate to the ‘Exam preparation’ topic area on the MGT5000 StudyDesk for further information and advice on preparing for your exam.
Assignment 1 – Online quiz
Task:
Online completion of a 10 multi-choice question quiz
Weight:
Marked out of 100 and worth 5% of total assessment
Relevant Modules:
Module 1: An Intro to Managing People & Organisations
Due date:
29 March 2016 (this is a Tuesday)
Instructions:
Navigate to the ‘Assignment 1’ topic area on the MGT5000 StudyDesk for further information about this online quiz and to access the quiz itself.
Assignment 2 – Written assignment
Task:
Critical analysis of a personal experience:
· Task 1: 500 word (max) scenario
● Task 2: 1,500 word written answer (excludes the list of references)
● Task 3: 1-2 page table of recommendations
Weight:
Marked out of 100 and worth 45% of total assessment
Due date:
26 April 2016 (this is a Tuesday)
Submission requirements:
To be completed on the assignment template available in the ‘Assignment 2’ topic area on MGT5000 StudyDesk.
You have up to midnight on the due date to electronically lodge your assignment. The submission link is in the ‘Assignment 2’ topic area on the MGT5000 StudyDesk.
Relevant modules:
This assessment task requires you to demonstrate an understanding of learning objectives selected from Modules 3, 4 and 5.
Instructions
Refer to the following for a description of the tasks.
Task 1 (up to 500 words)
Think of a story/scenario about an incident/event/problem which has occurred or is currently occurring in your working life and/or organisation (which may include experiences working/attending charity, school and sporting organisations) and in which the concepts of motivation, group dynamics and communication are relevant.
Write this story/scenario down (in no more than 500 words or one page). Be sure to include the titles/descriptions of key people/actors and descriptions of relevant situational variables (who? what? where? why? how?).
Several examples of scenarios appear in the ‘Assignment 2’ topic area on the MGT5000 Studydesk (Note: some of the concepts may differ in the scenarios from the concepts you are being asked to capture).
Guidelines to write the scenario
The scenario should commence with an opening statement which sets the scene in terms of the relevance of the scenario to you, eg, “This scenario relates to a case of a colleague in my area who caused me extra workload because he took unexpected leave.”
Try to limit the number of people/players you introduce into your scenario – the less complicated the scenarios the more easily and accurately the evaluator can come to understand the scenario.
The scenario must describe an event/problem which could be analysed from a motivational perspective.
The scenario must describe an event/problem which could be analysed from a group dynamics perspective.
The scenario must describe an event/problem which could be analysed from a communication perspective.
The story/scenario should be concrete (about real people, actions and events); familiar to a work setting and believable to those who read it.
Structurally your story should involve a setting, a build-up (trouble’s coming!) and a crisis, problem or climax.
The information you include in this assignment is for assessment purposes only. If you feel the need, you are welcome to change identifying information such as names of people, organisations and places. If you feel a particular scenario is too sensitive to discuss – then please select another scenario from your experience that you are comfortable discussing in your assignment.
Task 2 (1,500 words)
Analyse the scenario/event/problem by critically discussing the following organisational behaviour issues as they pertain to the scenario:
Choose two motivational theories from module 3 which are relevant to your scenario and critically discuss what impact the events/incidents/problems in this scenario are likely to have on the motivation of the people identified in the scenario. (500 words approx)
Draw on the content in module 4 to critically discuss group dynamics in the scenario. (500 words approx)
Draw on the content in module 5 to critically discuss communication in the scenario. (500 words approx)
The MGT5000 StudyDesk contains resources on analysing a case study in the Assignment 2 topic area.
Task 3 (1-2 page table)
Make recommendations: Draw up a table (1-2 pages) and summarise what actions could be taken to manage (1) the motivation of the people identified in the scenario; what actions could be taken to improve (2) the group dynamics/functioning in the scenario; and (3) what actions could be taken to improve communication in the scenario.
An example of a ‘table of recommendations’ appears in the ‘Assignment 2’ topic area on the MGT5000 Studydesk (Note: the topic area in the example is different to the ones you need to discuss).
Structure of the assignment
This assignment should be prepared in three parts.
Part 1 containing task 1: An opening statement and the description of the scenario/telling the story (no more than 500 words). Present your scenario in well-constructed paragraphs.
Part 2 containing task 2: An analysis of the scenario/story according to the guidelines above. Use three sub headings to reflect the three main themes (ie: motivation; group dynamics; and communication) (1,500 words in total). An essay response is not required (that is, there is no need to write an introduction and conclusion) but you must present your answer in fluent, grammatically correct sentences and well-constructed paragraphs.
Part 3 containing task 3: Recommendations in table format according to the guidelines above (1-2 pages)
Research and referencing
You are required to find and cite within your answer a minimum of ten (10) sources.
The emphasis should be on refereed journal articles to support your arguments; however you are also to refer to your text book as a distinct source.
Private web pages such as pages of study notes from other university courses are not acceptable. If you elect to use a website it must be of a scholarly and credible nature that clearly displays the sponsoring organisation, and if available, the author of the article.
These sources should be published from the year 2005 to the present. However if you do use older sources, you may be requested to provide evidence of a hard copy of the source.
Use Harvard AGPS referencing conventi Here is a link to guidelines for using Harvard AGPS: <http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/harvard-agps-referencing- guide>.
The template contains a reminder to include a list of references at the end of your paper using the Harvard referencing style.
Presentation
You MUST use the template available on the MGT5000 StudyDesk for your assignment. This template contains the marking criteria sheet upfront for the evaluator to complete. You write your assignment from page two of the template.
This template is set so that your paper is presented with 2 cm margins all round, 12 pt Times New Roman; 1½ line spacing. For Task 3, the table of recommendations is set at single line spacing.
Your assignment must fall within the required length guidelines: +/- 10% of the word count indicated for each question.
Page numbers, headers and footers have been included in the templat You need to insert your student details into the header.
Headings, diagrams and/or brief tables are permissible in your responses (but they are included in the word count). Tables and diagrams (if used) must be labelled and referenced and must be explained in the body of your answer. If you have solely developed it, cite it as ‘Developed for assignment’. If you adapted someone else’s work, cite (Adapted from: author, year pg. no).
Compile a single List of References on the last page of the assignment (as allowed for in the assignment template) according to Harvard AGPS requirement
The course teaching team reserves the right to submit any or all students’ assignments for a plagiarism and collusion check through ‘turn-it-in’.
General comments in relation to assignment 2
The aim of the assignment is to test your understanding of some of the key concepts in the material covered in the study modules, examine your ability to critically analyse a particular behavioural and organisational situation and to demonstrate how the concepts, ideas, suggestions, content, theory and research results can be applied in a practical situation.
A further objective of the assessment task is to draw you into questioning of the current organisational practice evident in the case/scenario and to facilitate reflection, self-awareness and a better (critical) understanding of others and yourself.
Don’t be put off by the terms ‘critically discuss’ or ‘develop a sound argument’. In simple terms, they involve the process of analysis. Unfortunately, over the years, many students don’t quite understand what an analytical approach to assignment questions mean. Instead, they present an answer to an assignment question in very descriptive terms – that is, they just define terms and describe or repeat what the text and associated materials present. Every answer will contain an amount of description but the analytical aspect of your writing is when you identify the issues in the material, the arguments and results that are apparent in the material and the differences of opinion expressed by various authors on the topic under discussion. You answer the question by presenting and analysing the ‘facts’ contained in the relevant material, and presenting an answer as a supported and logically presented argument – a critique. Your support comes from the authoritative references you present.
Don’t close the textbook and think ‘I will think about it’. You need to DO something after reading every module, chapter and article. What do you need to do now?
Get out your computer or your notebook. Start the assignment now. Map it out in the form of a structure. Then put into this structure that you create for this assignment, your notes from the material you have just read. Make notations on what is missing and what you need to do as soon as possible. Of course, the structure will follow closely the questions you have to answer.
Make sure you refer to the marking criteria sheet used to evaluate the assignment.
As far as the material is concerned, go back over the material on definitions and make notes. Identify what you see are the issues between the definition and the reality of describing the workplace pictured in the assignment.
With each module, we refer you to various materials within the study book for enrichment. The textbook supplies the basics to support you in understanding the topics prescribed. You are also expected to seek out additional material and use it where appropriate.
The word limit is always an issue. It acts as a guide to the quantity required. First impressions are that the requirements are significant. However, what generally happens is once students start to get their teeth into their answer, the word count becomes a limiting factor. Please do not go over the limit.
Students can get bogged down in the reading to a point where they believe they are reading too much and have lost the plot. There is a general amount of reading at the outset that is suggested in the study notes. This is to understand and absorb the thrust of each topic. These initial stages of reading promote general learning. You get to understand the concepts. You start to see how it does and can apply to your work specifically and to the organisation in general. Once you have achieved this general understanding, you then start to look at how you are going to approach the assignment questions. These questions are set to test your understanding of the key topic areas. Reading from this point is quite specific. You are looking for material to support your assignment and make your case.
Please check the electronic discussion board on a regular basis for answers to frequently asked questions on the assignments. ENJOY!
Marking criteria for Assignment 2
The content is the most important regarding the relative contribution of each of the dimensions. ‘Understanding and interpretation of assignment questions’, ‘critical analysis’, ‘research’ and ‘interpretation and application of theory’ account for 80% of the final grade on the assignment. Technical and academic care such as ‘presentation’, ‘written expression’, ‘structure’ and ‘academic referencing protocols’ account for 20% of the final grade on the assignment.
MGT5000 Marking criteria sheet for Assignment 2
CRITERIA
F > 50%
C 50 – 64%
B 65 – 74%
A 75 – 84%
HD 85%<
Mark
Content Weighting: 80%
Understanding and interpretation of assignment question:
Inadequate understanding & interpretation of questions/ misconception of the questions
Very basic understanding of the questions
Sufficient/satisfactory understanding and interpretation of questions
Very good understanding and interpretation of the questions
Unequivocal understanding and interpretation of questions
Mark out of 30
< 15
15 – 19
19 ½ – 22
22 ½ – 25
25 ½ – 30
Critical analysis
No evidence of critical analysis
Response relies on restating major themes from sources; little evidence of critical analysis
Some evidence of critical analysis
Critical analysis of sources/ critical appraisal of evidence and sources
Highly developed critical analysis and assessment of sources
Mark out of 20
< 10
10 – 12 ½
13 – 14 ½
15 – 16 ½
17 – 20
Research
Insufficient research/very limited sources/ sources used but not appropriate or relevant to the issue being discussed
Limited research on the relevant themes/ minimal effort to obtain original material evident/ relies on restating major themes from sources
Sufficient research is displayed on relevant themes/ evidence that original material obtained but little depth
Thorough research on the topic/ evidence of both original material and good effort to obtain relevant theoretical information
Display broad and in-depth research of the topic/ original material is the result of in depth investigation
Mark out of 15
<7 ½
7 ½ – 9
9 ½ – 11
11 ½ – 12 ½
13 – 15
Interpretation and application of theory
Incorrect or poor interpretation and application of theory
Marginal interpretation and application of theories
Adequate interpretation and application of theories
Clear and appropriate interpretation and application of theory
Excellent interpretation and application theories
Mark out of 15
<7 ½
7 ½ – 9
9 ½ – 11
11 ½ – 12 ½
13 – 15
Technical Weighting: 20%
Presentation
Written expression
Structure
Academic referencing
Poorly presented; Gross spelling & grammatical errors; No structure/no evidence of structure; Incorrect referencing
Average presentation of assignment; Basic understanding of rules of grammar however spelling and syntax, errors still occur; Some evidence of structure and progression in argument. Basic academic referencing
Well-presented assignment; Some evidence of fluency in writing, Sufficient structuring although internal problems may still be evident; Satisfactory level of referencing yet inconsistencies in referencing exist
Very good presentation; Clear and fluent writing/ clear structuring of ideas and paragraphing; Good structure; Very good referencing;
Excellent presentation; Well-constructed and crafted piece of work; a pleasure to read/ Excellent structure/Excellent and correct referencing throughout the assignment
Mark out of 20
<10
10 – 12 ½
13 – 14 ½
15 – 16 ½
17 – 20
Total marks out of 100
MGT5000
Three sample scenarios
As required in Task 1 in the written assignment
Scenario Example 1
In my previous position I was responsible for managing a small team of 8 in a high volume retail store. Due to the small team and high work volume, many of the team members had established a close friendship. This team comprised of a combination of new and original team members. This team brought both a combination of youth and enthusiasm, and maturity and professionalism to the team. Due mainly to the retail environment, the store has always had a high turnover of team members, but the store has always comprised a combination of both new and training team members and experienced team members.
A new team member was hired to fill a vacant position created by the departure of one of the team. This individual was a mid-twenties male university student that was to work three days a week. After two months of training, a situation arose where the new team member failed to turn up for their shift without advising anyone in the store. This situation was unacceptable but was caused by an unforseen accident. After this incident had occurred we were to go through training in the companies procedures to reinforce the absenteeism policy. With the knowledge of what was expected from him we had no more problems for about one month until the same situation occurred again. This time we were to conduct the same training as last time but the team member was to receive a verbal warning in regard to not following company procedure for absenteeism. With this training completed he agreed that his behaviour was unacceptable and he acknowledged that he understood what was required from him if he was unable to turn up for a shift.
This problem escalated while I was out of the country on annual leave for four weeks. While I was away this team member had been late to work on many occasions and had not turned up for his shift on a few occasions as well. This situation had caused a lot of problems with job motivation, productivity and satisfaction within the team. On arriving back to the store and realising the problems that had occurred while I was away, I called a meeting with this team member to discuss what had happened in that previous month. He was then disciplined for his behaviour through a written warning system. This absenteeism problem persisted until he was fired approximately a month later. This team member caused the departure of one senior team member. The team suffered from low job satisfaction, high absenteeism, low productivity, and low motivation both before and after his departure from the company. This situation created problems within the store for months after his departure.
Scenario Example 2
The following account is from when I was finance manager within shopping centre management. An event took place that caused the work environment and the group dynamic to change.
I had been working within the shopping centre management team for 2 years when head office relocated all of the centre managers. The manager, Stewart, had been there since the opening of the shopping centre, meaning that he had hired and trained everyone. Some had been working there for over 10 years. The team environment was supportive and Stewart had faith in our ability, allowing all departments to do their job while providing guidance. The new manager, Barry, was coming from a larger shopping centre on the Coast where major developments were planned. A hand over was never completed between Stewart and Barry and this meant that the team was not introduced to Barry until his first day. He arrived two hours late that day and continued to consistently arrive late and leave early which upset a number of individuals in the group. He originally only introduced himself to the four department managers. As I was the manager of the finance department he introduced himself to me but did not allow me to introduce him to any of my staff. He also appeared to favor me over many of the other staff, taking me out on lunches I had previously not been to and leaving behind the people who usually went. A number of my staff members made numerous comments to me over the following weeks about having never even spoken to Barry and feeling as though they didn’t exist. Barry made comments to the departmental managers having to move to a hick country town. He also immediately began to look for errors in everyone’s work under the guise of performance evaluations, with no communication to staff.
In addition to this, Barry took a dislike to the marketing manager Susan, which she speculated would be the case, based on comments from other marketing managers within the company. As a result the marketing department was offered little support and Barry began to withhold information from them. Consequently this resulted in Susan and Barry engaging in negative and ‘backstabbing’ behaviour. Staff began to side with the each of them, the feel of the office had been negatively impacted and people began to arrive late and leave early. A few, including Susan, began to contemplate resignation.
The events themselves outlined in the scenario have the ability to impact the individuals within the group. It is also evident that the motivation of the individuals, mainly through a lack of communication, has been affected. The most notable though, is the breakdown of a once cohesive group. By exploring the scenario I will discuss some actions that could have been taken to address these issues.
Scenario Example 3
Last year I was interviewed for the role of Queensland programs manager. I had become suspicious during my interview of the trouble that was going on in the programs team that I was about to join, due to the majority of questions asked were about how I would address conflict and performance management issues. However, I was assured by my new manager, Kym and that everything was fine.
I accepted the role that Kym was previously doing. I had a team of 5 direct reports. On my first day, Kym commenced in her new role of National Programs Manager. That morning, the human resources manager and Kym informed me that there were performance issues with 4 of my new 5 direct reports. The other project officer, Beth was seen as the favourite by Kym and she could do no wrong in Kym’s eyes. To compound the situation, there was conflict and bullying within the team. Beth and Carol did not speak to each other. Job satisfaction was low.
Kym’s perception was that Carol was not performing well. She believed Carol was incompetent. However, it was obviously that Kym did not personally like Carol, and she was jealous of her popularity and this appeared as to the real reason she wanted to terminate her employment.
Kym had already met with Carol to inform her that her job was on the line and that she was now on probation for 3 months. Kym also asked me to look for reasons to sack her.
Kym’s attempt to rectify this was to put Carol under a lot of pressure by meeting with her twice a week to examine her work and question each and every decision she had made. Carol could not understand why. This made her feel even more nervous and less confident. What made matters worse, was that the meetings were held in an office with glass windows where all the other staff could see what was going on. Carol would be in tears after every meeting.
Carol was highly motivated and valued her job. She believed this was her dream job. However she was extremely stressed and emotional (also due to currently undergoing IVF at the time), and felt she was being treated unfairly for no reason. Carol did not want to leave, as she felt that she had done no wrong.
Weeks later, Kym asked me to give Carol marching orders before 9:00am so she would be out of the building before the rest of the staff arrived, hoping for less disruption to the team. This backfired. Carol had taken longer than planned to gather her personal things and leave. On her way out, she bumped into a number of staff who were obviously upset that she been treated this way. At 10am, more than 20 staff members were consoling her on the street. The staff was angry, and Kym had to call a full staff meeting to explain. Carol never came back. I resigned 3 days later.
Is this the question you were looking for? If so, place your order here to get started!
