Organisation Behaviour

Learning Outcome 1: Acquire concepts and frameworks that are used to analyse organisations.
Learning Outcome 2: Understand and solve some of the problems/crises that tend to arise in organisational context.
Learning Outcome 3: Develop independent research and writing skills associated with producing longer assessed essays.
Learning Outcome 4: Develop teamwork, problem solving and presentation skills in tutorials.

Assignment Task

This assessment requires students to analyse one specific change that may be experienced by a business organisation, choosing from a selection of change topics listed below. Before selecting a topic, preliminary research needs to be undertaken to gain an understanding of the issues that may occur when an organisation introduce change in any of its processes. Students need to inform their lecturer of their chosen change topic.

Change topics -
1. Change in the use of technology
2. Change in leadership or top management
3. Innovation
4. Change in work practices
5. Change in recruitment strategies

Students need to undertake research on the causes that may trigger the change selected, individual and organisational responses to change, and recommend feasible corporate strategies to implement the change successfully.

The group poster presentation will be focused on individual (employee's) responses to change and the role of HR in the successful implementation of organisational change. Concepts to consider are resistance to change, conflict and stress, and motivation, among others. Discussions must include research-based company practices when dealing with resistance to change.

For the individual written paper, discussions need to focus on the factors that cause/trigger the organisational change chosen, analysing both internal and external factors, and organisational responses to change. Concepts to consider are SWOT/PESTEL to analyse factors that may trigger the specific organisational change, influences of organisational culture, leadership, and other relevant change theories. Discussions should recommend feasible organisational strategies to effectively implement the change selected; these recommendations must be evidence-based with examples of corporate or industry practices.

Discussions in both poster and individual paper should be about the same change topic, as chosen in group. Students need to demonstrate their knowledge of organisational behaviour theories and concepts and must show their understanding through a skilfully presented poster and written assignment.

Assignment Requirements

There are two components to this assessment, a 10-minute group poster presentation, and an individual written assignment of 3000 words. Both components of the assessment will be marked, 20% for poster presentation (group mark) and 80% for the written paper (individual mark).

Poster Presentation (Group)
The poster and its presentation will be completed in small groups of 4 students, with group membership based on the change topic selected. Each small group must complete their presentation in 10 minutes, each member of the group required to speak for 2 minutes, with 2 minutes Q&A after all members of the group have spoken.

Presentation times will be strictly observed, failure to present on date specified will be considered non- submission. Each group presenting must use a 1-slide poster which has been created by the group for purposes of this assessment.

Written Paper (Individual)
The written assignment should include a full discussion of the assignment topic, as described in this brief. The written assessment should include a contents page, executive summary, introduction, discussions and analysis, recommendations and conclusions, and a list of references.