Organisational Behavior
Assessment 3 Instructions
Group
Assignment
Assignment Overview
The
group assignment is to develop a case study that analyses and applies relevant
OB theory and concepts to a ‘mythical business’. You will work in groups of 4 to 5 students per group
(subject to your workshop facilitator’s approval) to complete the assignment. You
will be assigned the details of your mythical business in class and on the LMS,
and you will be provided with a series of questions throughout the semester to
guide your analysis.For this assessment task, you will need to complete the
following:
· Select
and name your group due Week 3
· Submit
a group charter, due Week 5
· Submit
one draft, due at the end of Week 7
· Submit
a final report (Assignment 3 Group Report), due at the end of the semester
Instructions.
A mythical
business is an idealised and fictitious business, but it is based on a real and
specific context. Your group will use OB theories and concepts to create a
mythical business. The context and guidelines for your mythical business will
be provided in class and on the LMS (see Draft Instructions).Your group assignment must develop and
analyse a mythical business within the assigned context. Failure to do so will
result in a significantly lower or even failing mark on Assessment 3.
The final report should apply learning from four different modules covered in this
subject to your mythical business. You must refer to four specific and distinct
OB theories or concepts, but your group’s overall analysis should be
integrative and cohesive. Your group will need to work together throughout the
term to maintain this integration and cohesion across the report. You are
expected to use feedback on your draft, as well as feedback provided to the
class as a whole, to improve your final report.
Working in Groups
Groups
and teams are an integral part of organisational behaviour, and the ability to
work effectively in a team is an important skill to take into the workplace. You
are expected to work collaboratively in small groups (4 to 5 students per
group) to complete this assignment. There will be some time in workshops to
meet with your groups, and you are expected to complete some activities early
to help develop cohesiveness and maintain accountability within your group.
The
first activity is to select your group and name your group, using the Group Self-Selection Tool.You
will have a formal group number (e.g., BU1, CB3), but your group’s name can be
creative and representative of your unique group personality. Take some time to
get to know other group members and decide on a group name. This step can help
to foster identification with your group and cohesion.
The
second activity is to form a Group Charter outlining the roles and responsibilities, how
to maintain accountability, and how to resolve conflict within your group. Your
group is expected to develop strategies to work within your group, and you are
expected to follow the guidelines that have been set out in your group charter.
Your workshop facilitator and subject coordinator are also available to provide
support and mediation, when necessary and consistent with guidelines of your
group charter. The group charter step is important for planning and can help
reduce intentional social loafing (e.g., shirking responsibilities).
The
third activity is to submit a draft of your work (see Required Milestones below).
This step can help you to identify areas of strength within your group, as well
as areas that require improvement. To maintain accountability, all group
members should contribute to the required draft. You may also want to re-visit
and update your group charter (e.g., you may find that the person assigned to a
particular activity would be better suited to another role).
The
fourth activity is to attend and participate in the Assessment 3 workshop that
is scheduled toward the end of the teaching team (usually as part of a Module 6
workshop).
The
fifth activity is to reflect on how well your group worked together over the
term. You will be asked to complete a confidential peer- and self-reflection at
the end of the term. You will be asked to reflect honestly and constructively
about how each member in the group (including yourself) contributed to
completing the assignment, as well as how you could improve your group work in
the future.
You
are encouraged to use a collaboration and cloud-based program to coordinate
your group’s work. La Trobe students all have access to Office 365 and Zoom,
which you are encouraged to use. Saving documents to a shared folder in Office
365 allows your group to maintain a central record of contributions and edits,
as well as store documents (e.g., drafts, ideas, articles) for all group
members to easily access. Note that you are expected to submit all written work
in Word format. Additional tips for using Office 365 and Zoom for collaboration
are provided on the LMS.
Required
Milestones
Please
note these required milestones (Please refer to the LMS for exact dates; all
times refer to AEST):
· Module
1, Week3: Form
groups and decide on a group name. Use the Group Self-Selection
Tool in the Assessments section of the LMS to indicate your group
membership. Due by 11:55pm (23:55) on the Friday of Week 3. All changes to
group membership after this date are at the discretion of your workshop
facilitator or subject coordinator.
· Module
2, Week5:Complete the Group Charter,
using the template on the LMS. One group member will need to submit a copy of
the charter via the relevant link in the Assessments section of your LMS. Due by
11:55pm (23:55) on theSunday ending Week 5.Tip:
use this milestone to practice working on a shared document in Office 365.
· Module
3, Week7:Submit Assessment 3 Draft.Refer
to Assessment 3 Draftinstructions posted under the Assessments section of the
LMS. These questions give you the context for this term’s mythical business.
The questions prompt you to describe your mythical business and begin your
analysis of OB concepts. This draft should be approximately 500 words and is
worth 5% of your overall marks on this assessment. One group member will need
to submit a copy of the Draft by 23:55 (11:55pm) on the Sunday ending Week7.
o
You will receive feedback from the
teaching staff on your draft. The feedback is intended to help you improve the
quality of your final report. You will need to complete a feedback response
form and include it when you submit your final report.
· First
Sunday of the Central Examination Period
o
Submit Assessment 3 Final Report by
23:55 (11:55pm) on the first Sunday of the Central Examination Period. Refer to
Format and Content – Final Report
for further instructions. Only one group member needs to submit a copy of the
final report.
o
Submit Individual Peer and
Self-Assessment by 23:55 (11:55pm) on the first Sunday of the Central
Examination Period. Refer to the template on the LMS. Each group member should
complete this activity separately.
Format and Content – Final Report
The
group assignment should be written in a neat, professional and engaging manner
using report format, meaning that you
need to develop coherent, well-supported and logical arguments following a
basic report structure. A concise guide for writing reports in business school
is provided here:https://www.business.unsw.edu.au/Students-Site/Documents/Writingareport.pdf.
The
final report should include the following information:
· Title
page (not included in word count)
o
Student names and Student ID numbers
o
Assignment Title: Assessment 3, Group
Assignment
o
Subject code/name
o
Workshop time
o
Workshop facilitator name
o
Due date
· Feedback
response form (not included in word count)
o
Complete the form on the LMS
· Table
of contents (not included in word count)
· List
of illustrations and List of tables (optional and not included in word count)
· Introduction
o
Try to write something engaging to
capture the reader’s interest.
o
Include a brief overview of the report
and how it is organised.
· Background
o
Briefly describe your mythical business
(e.g., approximate size, what service or product is provided, where it is
located, major competitors, etc.).
o
This section should be relatively short
as you will provide further detailed information as you apply OB concepts to
aspects of your business.
· Application
of learning from four different modules
covered in this subject.
o
Use OB theories or concepts to explain
how you will manage employees within your mythical business.Explain the
theories or concepts and explain why they are relevant to your business.
o
Develop coherent, logical arguments that
are supported with relevant academic literature and other high quality
evidence.
· Conclusion
o
Summarise and integrate your findings.
Identify any limitations within your report.
· References
o
Include the full reference information
for all sources cited in your report. Refer to Research and References
below
for more information about research sources and referencing style.
· Note 2: This report
should not include an executive summary or separate recommendations section. Please
do not include these items as they will take unnecessary space away from your
main analysis Inclusion of these sections will likely result in a lower overall
mark.
Research
and References
You
are expected to take a scholarly approach and should incorporate relevant organisational
behaviour theory and research. Your group is expected to read and use
information from a minimum of 15 academic research articles other than the
research sources provided in class. Academic research articles refer to
articles published in academic, peer-reviewed journal articles. The academic
research articles should be relevant to the topic, contemporary (i.e.,
published in the last 5 years) and of high quality (i.e., published in journals
ranked by the Australian Business Dean’s Council or Australian Research Council
as A*, A, or B).
You
are encouraged to use additional high quality sources beyond the minimum requirement.
For example, you may want to refer to additional journal articles, book
chapters, industry surveys, reputable websites and practitioner publications. Note
that Wikipedia and similar sources are not acceptable for this assignment. Tips
for finding appropriate references will be posted on the LMS and further
assistance is available from the teaching staff and the library.
Citeall
sources in the main text of the document and include a separate reference page
at the end of the document. The in-text citations and references should be
formatted using either the current version of the Harvard style or APA 6th
edition. Refer to the tips on applying these styles in the Assessments module
of this LMS site. It is important to maintain consistency of the reference
style you have chosen.
Tips
· This
subject has six modules:
o
Module 1: Organisational behaviour in
context
o Module
2: Individual differences
o
Module 3: Motivation and engagement
o
Module 4: Decision-making and team dynamics
o
Module 5: Power, communication and
conflict
o
Module 6: Organisational culture and
change
· Your
final report needs to apply concepts or theories from four separate modules
listed above. This doesn’t mean that you need to discuss everything from your
chosen modules; it is better to explain and apply fewer concepts accurately and
in greater depth than to superficially discuss many concepts. Identify 1-2
concepts or theories from each module that are relevant to your specific
mythical business (e.g., one motivation theory, one model of power, one model
of organisational culture, and one model of individual differences).
· Develop
your reasoning in a logical and straightforward manner. Support your reasoning
with appropriate evidence (e.g., cite relevant academic research articles) to
support your reasoning.
· Meet
with your group regularly to discuss your work and efforts. This will help to
reduce redundancy and improve coherence of the final report. It is also an
important step to maintain quality and accountability.
· Use
in-text citations throughout your report. Refer to Research and References. Do
not refer to Article 1, Article 2, etc., as this can easily become confusing.
· Ask
for help if you are unsure about what to do.
· Additional
tips will be posted on the LMS and in the Assessment Q&A forum.
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