Management Assignment (Performance Management)

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EHR303 Performance Management

Assessment 2: Written Assignment

Assessment Name: Analytical Report

Format: Report

Due Date: Week 11, by 5.00 pm Monday 28 January via Turnitin

Length: 2000 words (+/- 10% or penalties will apply). The word count includes in-text citations but does not include the reference list.

Weighting: 40%

Learning Outcomes: 1 – 5

You are to write an analytical report on a selected area of Performance Management as it

relates to organisations and their employees.

The task includes:

i. Choosing a topic (choose one of the topics below).

ii. Searching the literature for relevant theories, concepts, and empirical findings.

iii. Writing a report that provides an in-depth analysis of a specific area within the topic using relevant literature (identified at ii.).

iv. Providing clear recommendations on policies and practices which should be developed and/or implemented by organisations to respond to issues identified as being of critical importance in performance management. These recommendations need to be clearly derived from the critical analysis (identified in iii) and supported by references.

v. Including a minimum of TEN (10) scholarly or peer reviewed journal articles published within the last 10 years to support all the arguments presented in the report. You may cite the textbook and include articles dated prior to the last 10 years, but this does not count towards the minimum eight references. Websites (including dictionaries, encyclopaedias, business magazines available online, and blog posts) and will not be included in assessing whether you have met the minimum referencing requirements (i.e. these are not scholarly, peer reviewed sources and should be avoided in academic writing).

What is an analytical report?

An analytical report is a report that goes beyond simple summary and description. It requires an in-depth analysis of a focused topic. You will need to conduct a review of the

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current theory and research. It is recommended that you use the Griffith library catalogue to access scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles. You may also find Google Scholar useful.

Assignment Topics

Choose ONE of the following topics and focus on one specific area:

Topic 1: Performance appraisal: Issues and strategies for best practice

Suggestions for specific areas to focus on for Topic 1 include (but are not limited to):

· Objectives and/or performance standards

· Formal and informal meetings

· Self-evaluation

· Potential disagreements

· Supervisor training

Topic 2: Managing poor-performing individuals: Issues and strategies for best practice

Suggestions for specific areas to focus on for Topic 2 include (but are not limited to):

· Identifying and diagnosing performance problems

· Designing and implementing a development plan

· Role of the supervisor

· Coaching for development

Structure of your Analytical Report

Note: No title page, abstract, executive summary, or TOC required.

Your report should include the following sections (approx. % of word count):

Title (N/A)

· Include the topic title.

Introduction (10%)

· The introduction should introduce the topic, explain why it is of critical importance in performance management, and provide an overview of the report (major arguments/ directions).

· Use ‘Introduction’ as a subheading.

Critical Analysis (60%)

· The analysis is more than just a summary of the literature. You need to conduct an in-depth analysis of a focused topic that:

o Highlights similarities and differences within the literature;

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o Strengths and weaknesses of the PM policies, strategies, and practices reviewed.

· Include your own sub headings which relate to the themes being discussed within this section. The subheading should not be Critical Analysis.

Recommendations (20%)

· Make recommendations, based on the arguments presented in the body of the assignment, for policies and practices which should be developed and/or implemented by organisations to respond to issues identified as being of critical importance in performance management.

· You must reference relevant literature to support the recommendations.

· Use ‘Recommendations’ as a subheading.

Conclusion (10%)

· The conclusion should clearly summarise the key issues discussed in the literature review.

· Use ‘Conclusion’ as a subheading.

Word Count (N/A)

· Provide the assignment word count just below the Conclusions section.

References (The reference list is not included in the word count)

· Provide a reference list consistent with APA 6th edition (preferred) or Harvard style.

· This is NOT a bibliography. Do not cite material that you have read, but have not referred to in the body of the report.

· Ensure sources are cited in-text and in the reference list. Failure to do so can constitute plagiarism.

· Use ‘References’ as a subheading.

You have 2000 words (+/- 10%). Your introduction and conclusion should each be around 10% of this (i.e. 200 words each). This means that you have 1200 words to construct your arguments (60%) and 400 words for your meaningful and well-researched recommendations (20%). A well-written report will be clearly structured and integrate information from multiple sources to develop your points.

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Additional Instructions

Academic Integrity

Plagiarism in assignments is detected using software that highlights text, which is similar or identical to another source. Developing your skills in paraphrasing and integrating information from multiple sources is key to avoiding unintentional plagiarism. Changing a few words or rearranging sentences does not ‘hide’ plagiarism from the software, which still highlights the similar parts of the sentence.

Students are advised to complete the Academic Integrity Tutorial . The link for the Academic Integrity Tutorial is available under the Assessment 2 Written Assignment folder. Students who breach the Griffith University’s policy on academic integrity will be reported to the Academic Integrity Management System. Examples of a breach of academic integrity are:

· Paraphrasing a paper from a source text, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, without appropriate acknowledgement; and

· Word for word copying, cutting or pasting statements from a single source or multiple

sources or piecing together work of others and representing them as original work For full information, see Institutional Framework for Promoting Academic Integrity

Among Students document:

http://policies.griffith.edu.au/pdf/Framework%20for%20Promoting%20Academic%20Integri ty.pdf

Academic Skills and Research Modules

This assignment requires extensive research and academic skills. All students are advised to complete the Academic Skills and Research Modules in order to help develop these skills and maximise your chances of succeeding at this assignment task. The links for these modules are available under the GBS OUA Library and Learning Resources tab in the left hand menu of the course website.

Referencing Requirements

This assignment requires a high standard of compliance to one of the advised referencing styles. Referencing must be consistent with the Griffith University Referencing Tool – type Referencing Tool into the search box on the Griffith home page. Below are some examples of how to reference correctly; refer to the Griffith University referencing tool for complete instructions on how to reference in-text. There are also pdf copies available of both Harvard and APA 6th Styles under the Assessment 2 Written Assignment folder.

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Referencing In-Text Examples

In-text referencing can take two forms: first, the reference is used as part of the sentence; second, the reference is provided in parentheses at the end of the sentence (but is still enclosed within the sentence). Notice that references use ‘and’ when used within a sentence, but ‘&’ is used when the reference is in parentheses (see Table 1).

Table 1.

An Example of APA and Harvard In-text Referencing Styles.

Referencing Style

	APA 6th Edition	Harvard
Reference forms	Smith, Jones, and Brown (2008)	Smith, Jones and Brown (2008)
part of a sentence	found…	found…
	Job applicants have been found	Job applicants have been found
Reference provided	[…] adds value beyond the	[…] adds value beyond the
in parentheses	attributes of the job itself (Smith,	attributes of the job itself (Smith,
	Jones, & Brown, 2008).	Jones & Brown 2008).

Note. APA Style uses the Oxford comma; Harvard Style referencing does not.

Referencing Multiple Authors In-Text

This is an example of how to reference multiple authors in-text. Notice that the references are separated by a semi colon and listed in alphabetical order.

Example of Referencing Multiple Authors:

Some researchers have observed that the concept of disruptive innovation requires further qualification and contextual refinement (Gobbler, 2016; Nagy, Schuessler, & Dubinsky, 2016).

Referencing Tips

· The reference list will begin on a new page and have the heading ‘References’.

· Make sure to continue to use Times New Roman (size 12) font and double spacing in the entire document (this includes the reference list).

· References in the reference list should not be numbered.

· References in the reference list need to be in strict alphabetical order by first author surname.

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· References in the reference list should be formatted with a hanging indent (1 cm), as in the examples below.

· Check the tool for how to reference one, two or multiple authors the first time the reference is used, and how to use the same reference in subsequent citations.

· All referencing (including in-text referencing) must be consistent with ONE style (i.e. do not mix and match APA and Harvard referencing).

Reference List Examples

APA 6th Style - Electronic Journal with doi [Preferred]

Buckridge, M., & Guest, R. (2007). A conversation about pedagogical responses to increased diversity in university classrooms. Higher Education Research & Development, 26(2), 133-146. doi:10.1080/07294360701310771

APA 6th Style - Electronic Journal Without doi

Herington, C., & Weaven, S. (2008). Action research and reflection on student approaches to learning in large first year university classes. Australian Educational Researcher, 35(3), 111-134. Retrieved from http://www.aare.edu.au/aer/about.htm

Harvard Style– Electronic Journal

Buckridge, M & Guest, R 2007, 'A conversation about pedagogical responses to increased diversity in university classrooms', Higher Education Research & Development, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 133-46, viewed 16 September 2008, via Informaworld database.

Note: Both styles use a hanging indent.

Instructions for Formatting, Writing Style and Saving the File:

· Use Times New Roman (size 12) font

· Double space entire document

· Insert page numbers (top-right)

· No title page

· Report format

· Use headings and sub-headings

· Use complete sentences and paragraphs for the entire document

· Paragraphs must consist of several sentences, with linking sentences between the paragraphs.

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· Write in third person

· Do not use ‘contractions’, such as can’t or won’t.

· No abbreviations should be used without first spelling out the full name e.g., Performance Management (PM).

· You can include a maximum of 1 direct quote and it should be referenced in-text with the exact page number. Please note that quotes should be avoided in academic writing. Students are expected to paraphrase their work.

· Save the file as a .doc or .docx file. Do not save as a PDF file.

· Save the file as SURNAME_first name_student number_course code for identification purposes (eg: SMITHjane234567EHR205.docx).

Submission Instructions

All submission folders are located under the Submit Assignment Here tab.

Step 1 : Submit a DRAFT to Turnitin. Click on the text-matching report – do not just check the % overlap. You need to review the text with the originality report view, so that sentences that are too close to the original source can be revised before submitting.

Step 2 : Submit an Electronic Cover Sheet. This MUST be completed before submitting your assignment. You will not be able to submit your FINAL submission without completing the Electronic Cover Sheet first. Do NOT include a printed cover sheet in the assignment submission.

Step 3 : Submit FINAL copy to Turnitin to the FINAL submission point or if you have an extension or you are late submitting, submit to the LATE/EXTENSIONS submission point. Step 4 : Save the digital receipt of your submission. You will see a digital receipt pop up which gives you the option to save the receipt as a pdf. If you do not get confirmation, resubmit or email the convenor to ensure your assignment was received.

Note 1: Students are expected to keep a copy of their written assignment until a final grade for the course has been awarded.

Note 2: Once the due date has passed you will not be able to see your submission. This is because the FINAL submission link closes on the due date and the LATE/EXTENSIONS link becomes available.

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Final Tips

· Proof read your report.

· Check grammar, punctuation, spelling and accuracy of citations. It is a good idea to ask someone to read your report to make sure that sentences are clear and ideas are presented in a logical order.

Marking Criteria

Note: Academic Integrity should be evidenced in all aspects of the assessment task.

Criteria	Excellent	Very Good	Good	Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory
	(85-100%)	(75-84%)	(65-74%)	(50-64%)	(0-49%)
Identifying and	Content shows in-	Content shows	Content shows	Content shows	Content Content
applying	depth application	clear application	some application	limited application	shows little or no
concepts/theory to	of relevant	of relevant	of relevant	of relevant	application of
issues/problems in	concepts/theory.	concepts/theory.	concepts/theory.	concepts/theory.	relevant
a performance	Analysis is	Analysis is	Analysis has some	An attempt at	concepts/theory.
management	extensive and	substantial and	substance but	analysis but	Little or no
context	insightful and	reasoning	reasoning is	reasoning is	analysis or
20%	reasoning clearly	generally effective.	inconsistent and	unclear or poorly	reasoning is
	articulated.		tends to lack focus.	expressed.	evident.
Identifying	Identifies and	Identifies and	Identifies and	Identifies and	No Identify none
issues/problems	clearly and	clearly	communicates	communicates a	of the
within a	concisely	communicates	some of the	few of the relevant	relevant current
performance	communicates all	most of the	relevant current	current and/or	and/or potential
management	the relevant current	relevant current	and/or potential	potential	issues within the
context	and potential	and potential	issues/problems	issues/problems	context are
15%	issues/problems	issues/problems	are identified	are identified	identified or
	within the context.	are identified	within the context.	within the context.	communicated.
		clearly
		communicated
		within the context.
Selecting and	Evidence is very	Evidence is well	Evidence is present	Evidence is present	Evidence is
using information	well chosen from a	chosen from a	from a minimum	with some	lacking or used
to support analysis	minimum of 8	minimum of 8	of 8 quality	interpretation or	ineffectively in
20%	quality scholarly	quality scholarly	scholarly peer	evaluation but	analysis. Does not
	peer reviewed	peer reviewed	reviewed journal	provides limited	utilise a minimum
	journal sources	journal sources	sources published	support of	of 8 scholarly peer
	published in the	published in the	in the last 10 years	analysis. Utilises a	reviewed journal
	last 10 years and	last 10 years and	and interpreted and	minimum of 8	sources published
	interpreted and	interpreted and	evaluated to	quality scholarly	in the last 10.
	evaluated to	evaluated to	support analysis.	peer reviewed
	support analysis.	support analysis.		journal sources
				published in the
				last 10 years.
Critically analyse	Detailed and	Thorough	Some examination	Basic examination	Little or no
solutions to form	rigorous	examination of	of solutions,	of solutions. There	examination of
appropriate	examination of	solutions, which	including	are limited links to	solutions. There is
recommendations	solutions, which	are well-supported	relationships, with	key	little or no attempt
/conclusions	are well-supported	by theory and	some links to key	points/arguments	to link to the key
20%	by theory and	references and	points/arguments	in the document.	points/arguments
	references and	related to key	in the document.	Recommendations	in the document.
	clearly tied to the	points/arguments	Recommendations	are not all	Recommendations
	key	in the document.	are not all	supported by	are not supported
	points/arguments		supported by	theory and	by theory and
	in the document.		theory and	references.	references.
			references.

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Criteria	Excellent	Very Good	Good	Satisfactory	Unsatisfactory
	(85-100%)	(75-84%)	(65-74%)	(50-64%)	(0-49%)
Structure and	Writing is	Writing is	Organisation is	There is some	There is little or no
organisation of	coherently	generally well	present; there may	organisation	attempt at
writing	organised and the	organised and most	be some	present but the	organisation.
15%	logic/ideas/argume	logic/ideas/argume	inconsistencies	logic/ideas/argume	Organisation is
	nts are easy to	nts are easy to	with organisation	nts lack clarity	confusing to the
	follow; writing is	follow; writing is	and structure of	and/or conciseness.	reader; rambles,
	clear, concise and	mostly clear and	logic/ideas/argume		lacks proper
	persuasive.	generally easy to	nts, but generally		paragraph
		follow.	easy to follow;		construction;
			writing is mostly		transitions, topic
			clear but parts may		sentences and/or
			lack conciseness.		support.
Presentation,	Completely	Generally follows	Attempts to follow	Minimal attempt to	Little or no
Mechanics and	follows the	the reference style	the reference style	follow the	adherence to style
Referencing	reference style	guidelines; paper	guidelines; paper	reference style	guidelines; little or
(Style)	guidelines; paper	has minimal	has some	guidelines; paper	no evidence of
10%	has virtually no	grammar, spelling	grammar, spelling	has many	editing and
	grammar, spelling	and/or formatting	and/or formatting	grammar, spelling	revising.
	and/or formatting	errors.	errors.	and/or formatting.
	errors.