Organizational Behaviour

Length and Format:

3000 words, written assignment

The assignment should be in 12pt font size with 1.5 or double spacing. Each page of the assignment should have at least 3cm margins from the left and right edges and top and bottom of the page.

Assessment Details:

You will select an organisation bearing in mind a critical OB issue(s) affecting the performance of this organisation i.e. its effectiveness or efficiency. The issue may be something positive in or outside the organisation, or else it maybe something negative. Your job is to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the issue(s) utilising and demonstrating knowledge and skills of topics from the subject.

What you need to do early on is to select an organisation - either domestic or international - for detailed analysis. The organisation may be of any size and it is likely that data availability will vary with size and international presence.

What I am trying to get at in this task is how well you understand the ideas presented in this subject and how well you can articulate this knowledge by applying it to an actual situation. The emphasis is on understanding, rather than presentation. You are not describing but analysing situations/behaviour. Assignments that are excessively descriptive or make excessive use of point-form, will not achieve a very high grade.

Basic issues to be addressed MIGHT include (in no particular order):

• Brief overview of the organisation
• Are employees satisfied and/or motivated? WHY/WHY NOT?
• Is the organisation well led? WHY/WHY NOT?
• Is the organisation’s structure and design conducive to functional specialisation, communication, coordination, and knowledge creation and sharing? Any cooperative arrangements (alliances, JV’s, etc.) it has in its value chain and WHY? Relationships with suppliers, distributors, retailers, etc. and WHY?
• Who has power in the organisation and is it effectively used?

HOW/WHY?

• Is the organisation’s culture conducive to it being a “great place to work”, as well as knowledge creation and sharing? HOW/WHY? What role do leaders play in organisational culture? Is the culture

strong or weak? HOW/WHY?

• How has the organisation dealt with change? Why did/does it need to change and how has/will this been managed?

Not all of these issues will be relevant for every organisation. Notice that I emphasise HOW & WHY issues because if you do this, then you will be analytical, rather than descriptive. Students are required to use their initiative in what issue they address, and what issues they ignore. Likewise, you are required to use your initiative in how you structure/organise and present the issues addressed – there is no model answer or blue-print for success in this exercise, though some examples of both good and bad past assignments will be provided. These should be regarded as indicative of style and structure rather than of content.

Assessment addresses

SLOs

SLO A: Understand the factors influencing behaviour in work organizations

SLO B: Understand the factors influencing the role of management in work organizations

SLO C: Compare different theoretical frameworks for understanding behaviour in work organizations

SLO F: Apply knowledge of organization behaviour theories to developing solutions to management problems

Marking Criteria

Please refer to Marking Rubric on Canvas