Write an individual report or in pairs (maximum 2 people) using relevant cross-cultural management theories. If you choose to work in pairs, you will need to demonstrate the relative contribution of each member to the report; the mechanism for this will be discussed in class and explained on the MGNT978 Moodle site before the submission date.
Your report should be formatted as a business report, and should thus contain the following elements:
- title page
- executive summary
- introduction
- discussion of the topic
- recommendations
- conclusion followed by your reference list and any appendices you deem necessary.
Headings are encouraged in business reports.
Support your analysis with a minimum of 4 key references from peer-reviewed academic journal articles published between 2009 and 2018.
We highly recommend to use the journals listed on page 4 (Additional Materials) of this subject outline for the peer-reviewed references.
A journal is a periodic published collection of articles that focuses on a particular discipline or subject matter. Journals are sometimes referred to as magazines, periodicals, or serials.
Peer-reviewed journal articles are written by experts and are reviewed by several other experts in the field before the article is published in the journal in order to ensure the article’s quality.
Guidance in the correct formatting of a business report can be found at the following website: http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/4b.html.
Joanne Dearlove facilitates additional workshops regarding ‘Writing Business Reports’ scheduled during Trimester 2 (Thursday during lunch hour or alternatively by appointment). For those students who are new to writing Business Reports, or want to improve their skills, we strongly advise you to participate in these workshops.
ADDITIONAL:
- Each student should provide one annotated bibliographic reference (based on a peer-reviewed journal article) with the reference source correctly cited in Harvard format. The annotated bibliography should discuss the relevance, the accuracy and the quality of your source for your research. The annotated bibliographic reference should be no longer than 250 words (excluding the reference
MGNT978 Subject Outline Trimester 2, 2018 Sydney On Campus Page 11 of 16
source details). Include the annotated bibliography with your name as an appendix to your report.
- Each student should provide a personal reflection and reflect on what you have personally learnt from undertaking this Business Report given that your own cultural background and bias might influence barriers to cross-cultural management. Include your personal reflection with your name as an appendix to your report.
The report should be typed, 1.5 line spaced, 11 point font with 2.5 cm margins on all sides.
- Submit your report through the Turnitin gateway on the MGNT978 Moodle site by 11:30 pm on Sunday 1 July 2018.
- Then submit a hard copy of your report during the lecture on Monday 2 July, along with a copy of the summary of your originality report from Turnitin.
Without submission of a hard copy on the day (preferably during the lecture), there will be no marking of your report.
Additional Assessment Information
Content of the case
Late last year MULTICO P/L a Spanish International Manufacturing Corporation won a prestigious three-year infrastructure contract in Australia. MULTICO, being the main contractor, is responsible for the project management and includes managing a number of different Australian and international providers and suppliers from Italy and Germany. The newly established project team is being managed by a Spanish HQ project manager who has flown in to Australia for the duration of the contract. The team consists of Spanish, Australian, German and Italian subject matter experts.
While the Spanish International Human Resource (IHR) Manager visits Australia to meet the project team, she attends an IHRM event in Sydney about the challenges of managing culturally diverse teams. She learns that only a small percentage of multicultural teams outperform homogenous teams. The IHR manager realises that MULTICO’s newly established project team only recently went through some of the challenges that were discussed during the IHRM event.
The IHR manager now wants to have in-depth research done into how to enhance the performance of multicultural project teams: what are challenges and opportunities that multicultural teams face, and how can IHRM assist project managers and culturally diverse teams to better prepare them for the tasks at hand and to enhance team performance?
The IHR manager and the project manager ask you – a Master’s Graduate who aspires to become a manager in a global organisation -to advise them about managing multicultural teams for high performance, and to outline an approach to prepare for multicultural team challenges.
You need to report back by 1 July.
Include in your business report to the IHR manager and the project manager:
- What should high performance multicultural teams look like? * Identify and review challenges and opportunities of multicultural teams. * Explain how leadership, motivation, and competence impact multicultural teams.
- How should awareness of cross cultural management theory assist future project managers and multicultural teams? * Discuss how to best prepare project managers and multicultural teams for successful completion of tasks (include relevant IHRM functions) * Based on your research analysis, recommend a suitable process for MULTICO’s future multicultural teams.iii. Conclusion and way to go forward for IHRM
