• Critically analyse the roles, functions that managers perform and discuss the challenges and risks they have to address in today’s changing organisations
• Discuss the impact of values, ethics and diversity on the culture of an organisation and the role, behaviour and performance of managers within that organisation
The assessment suite in this subject is designed to provide students with a framework to understand organisational behaviour, politics and the dynamics of the business environment. The assessment suite aims to equip students with the necessary skills to understand the constraints managers and emerging leaders face in developing strategies to leverage advantages and overcome constraints and barriers in organisations.
Instructions:
Students will individually draw up a case study report on their own organisation, or an organisation of their choice. The case study will demonstrate an understanding of organisational theory including organisational ethics and ethical practice. The case study report should include:
• a rationale for the research methodology and organisational theory utilised including comparisons with alternative theory;
• utilisation of appropriate research strategies;
• a critical examination of the role of ethics and ethical practice relevant to the chosen organisation;
• a discussion of the role and legitimacy of the management function and how it is impacted by politics and the social environment;
• incorporating the use of qualitative analysis; and
• incorporating the use of several high-quality external sources.
The report is to be limited to 2000 words, exclusive of formal document sections (i.e. title page, executive summary, table of contents, references list, appendices, etc.), citations, tables and graphs. Students should submit one file through Turnitin.
There are a number of forms the report could take. The exact form of the report will depend on the additional research the student will undertake; students should aim for the demonstration of deep learning, founded on theory through thorough reading of scholarly
literature, rather than on getting any aspect of the brief ‘right.’
Students should commence this assignment early, keep regular backups and ensure they submit the correct, final version. Students should use this brief as the instruction set for the assignment requirements. Additionally, the rubric below can be used to describe what
unacceptable, functional, proficient, advanced and exceptional assignments might look like according to the criteria in the leftmost column of each row.
As this is a Masters level subject, students are expected to engage with high-quality academic journal articles, using the Torrens University Library. Textbooks, Wikipedia and, in general, anything that can be obtained through an open Google search page are considered
supplementary material, unbecoming of a postgraduate.
Students should begin their research on the case study method, looking into the contributions of Robert K Yin.
The following are guidelines for layout of your case study report and also suggested content
Your assignment should include;
- A cover page with your name and student number, name of the course and also the name of the organisation which is the subject of your study
- Each page should have a header or footer with your name and student number
- A contents page listing the main sections of the report
- An executive summary ( Write this after you have finished your report)
The main section of the report should;
- Introduce the organisation( basic background about industry , size etc)
- Relate the organisation to the following theoretical concepts( Note not all may be relevant but you should try to include as many as possible);
- Organisational structure ( network, matrix, hierarchical etc.)
- Research strategy: how did you find information/what information was available…personal experience, newspapers public reports, websites etc.
- Organisational metaphors( this will be covered this week and there will be relevant material attached to this email)
- Values of the organisation: are these espoused/specific?
- Organisational culture: how are people introduced to this? What are key elements?
- Patterns of communication( how is information distributed, the flow as well as the method)
- Types of power which are utilised/challenges associated with these( This will be covered this week and also there are articles under module 2) ( Position, personal, expert, informal etc)
- Impact of the external environment including description of key factors
- Role and functions of managers and challenges in their day to day tasks. Impact of politics within the organisation and communication styles on managers
- Ethical aspects of the organisations operations
- Diversity within the organisation: Are there policies and how is this managed and ultilised to advantage or not?
- Critical analysis: SWOT analysis or other of the organisation
Conclusions & Recommendations for future
References
Appendices (This could include any additional charts etc.)