Define theories, models and concepts relating to the study of human behaviour in the workplace

Module code and title:

MG414 Organisational Behaviour

Module leader:

Assignment No. and type:

CW1- Report

Assessment weighting:

100%

Submission time and date:

14:00 hours

21 May 2021

Target feedback time and date:

14:00 hours

11 June 2021

Assignment task: MG414 Organisational Behaviour

Organisational Behaviour is a field of study which seeks to understand and improve organisational effectiveness by examining factors such as individuals, teams and organisational culture and structure, and the way they interact (Cross & Carbery,2016)

Using an organisation with which you are familiar:-

1. Identify its culture in line with a theoretical model of your choice
2. Explore how culture improves organisational effectiveness with a focus on communication
3. Evaluate the role of culture on employee motivation.
4. Evaluate how the company could use the culture of the organisation to further enhance its success.

This is a 2,500-word report and can be completed individually or in a small group of up to 4 people.  Secondary and primary research should be used.  If you are working in a group, then only one person from that group needs to upload the report onto Blackboard.

This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes:

LO 1

Define theories, models and concepts relating to the study of human behaviour in the workplace

LO 2

Demonstrate an understanding of how these theories can explain the way that people behave and interact at work at individual, group and organisational levels

LO 3

Demonstrate an understanding of the impact that organisational culture can have on the success of that organisation

Task requirements: MG414 Organisational Behaviour

This task will involve you carrying out some PRIMARY and SECONDARY research

Secondary research should include:-

• Theories of organisational culture
• Theories/models of communication
• Theories of motivation
• You need to find at least TEN SOURCES of information (e.g. from books, academic journals, internet etc) to define, describe and explain these theories/models in detail.

Primary research

• Identify and illustrate the culture of the organisation using primary research. 
• Link this to models or theories.

The purpose of the primary research is to explore how the topic is applied in practice. You are expected to undertake some PRIMARY research into the companies, if possible, to analyse their organisational culture, their communication methods and their approach to motivating staff. This may involve interviewing some managers and employees to ascertain their views, or interviewing a friend or neighbour who works/worked for the companies.  If this is not possible, then try to identify case studies or information from the company websites, which will help you to evaluate the differences between the companies. Define theories, models and concepts relating to the study of human behaviour in the workplace

WHATNEXT? THE INFORMAL PRESENTATION / INTERVIEW

Once you have completed your findings you are required to create a draft of a power-point presentation based upon your findings to bring along to an interview with the Module Tutor. The informal presentation/interview will last 15 minutes and will take place during Week 09  – 29/04/2021 each student/group will be given a time to attend in advance. Each student/group will need to bring along a hard copy of their power point presentation (3 slides to a page) (or Send soft copies by email) which will be discussed with the Module Tutors and formative feedback will be provided to help you compile your final report. (You will not be formally presenting your slides – these will be used as the basis for a discussion with the tutors). A copy of the slides MUST be placed in the final report submitted as an appendix.

In the informal presentation / interview each student will be required to:

1 Describe and explain a range of models and theories appropriate to Organisation Culture, communication and motivation. 

2 Illustrate the findings from the organisation and how they fit with the models and theories previously explained

3 Draw conclusions about culture and how it could enhance the success of the organisation, based upon your findings

4 Answer any questions that the Module Tutors may have

5 Power-point produced slides must be created to support the discussion, use varying lay outs and graphics and ensure that you have spell checked everything.

You will receive formative feedback on your informal presentation/interview. It is expected that you take account of the feedback and work on areas that have been highlighted as requiring further development to enhance the report. Where this is not done valuable marks could be lost.

THE REPORT

The content of this informal presentation should then be written up into a word-processed report of not more than 2,500 words. This should be completed with the aim of producing a well referenced, spell checked, coherent and professional, business-like report.

The report should then be submitted electronically on Friday 21 May 2021.  

Please ensure that the report contains:-

• An executive summary
• Table of Contents
• Introduction,

• The main body of the report to cover the theories and models found in your secondary research, and then linking those models to your chosen organisation to demonstrate practice in action
• A conclusion/evaluation
• a copy of the power point slides used in the informal presentation should be included in the appendices
• A group log, if relevant.  See note below
• Please ensure that all the student ID numbers for the group are included in the footer

• References list and Bibliography stating all sources used is essential and the Harvard referencing system must be used as detailed in your student handbook.  (Remember at least ten different sources should be used) Define theories, models and concepts relating to the study of human behaviour in the workplace

Referencing and research requirements

Please reference your work according to the Harvard style as defined in Cite Them Right Online (http://www.citethemrightonline.com). This information is also available in book form: Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2016) Cite them right: the essential reference guide. 10^th edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Copies are available via the university library.

How your work will be assessed

Your work will be assessed on the extent to which it demonstrates your achievement of the stated learning outcomes for this assignment (see above) and against other key criteria, as defined in the University’s institutional grading descriptors. If it is appropriate to the format of your assignment and your subject area, a proportion of your marks will also depend upon your use of academic referencing conventions.

This assignment will be marked according to the grading descriptors for Level 4.  Please see assessment grid below.

If you have chosen to do this assignment as a group, then you will be allocated one mark for the entire group. Define theories, models and concepts relating to the study of human behaviour in the workplace Please include a group log in the appendices which shows when you met and what tasks each member of the team was allocated to do.  This group log will be used as documentary evidence should there be any concerns about the contributions of all of the group members.  A suggested format for this will be uploaded to Blackboard.

Submission details

This assignment should be submitted electronically. Please use the relevant Turnitin submission point in the Submit your work area in your Blackboard module shell.

• Please ensure that your work has been saved in an appropriate file format. Turnitin will only accept the following file types: Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint, PostScript, PDF, HTML, RTF, OpenOffice (ODT), Hangul (HWP), Google Docs, or plain text. Your file must also contain at least 20 words of text, consist of fewer than 400 pages and be less than 40MB in size.

• You can submit your work as many times as you like before the submission date. If you do submit your work more than once, your earlier submission will be replaced by the most recent version.

• If you have worked in a group, then only one member of the group needs to submit the assignment.

• Once you have submitted your work, you will receive a digital receipt as proof of submission, which will be sent to your forwarded e-mail address (provided you have set this up). Please keep this receipt for future reference, along with the original electronic copy of your assignment

• You are reminded of the University’s regulations on academic misconduct, which can be viewed on the University website: https://bucks.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/9546/Academic-Misconduct-Policy.pdf. In submitting your assignment, you are acknowledging that you have read and understood these regulations

Submission date and time: MG414 Organisational Behaviour

This assignment should be submitted before 14:00 UK time on 21 May 2021.

Work that is submitted up to 10 working days beyond the submission date will be accepted as a late submission. Late submissions will be marked and the actual mark recorded, but will be capped at the pass mark (typically 40%), provided that the work is of a passing standard. Work submitted after this period will not be marked and will be treated as a non-submission.