Management Perspectives

MGMT6012 Assignment One Brief Page 1 of 6

ASSESSMENT BRIEF

Subject Code and Title MGMT6012 Management Perspectives

Assessment Assignment One: report

Individual/Group Individual

Length 2,000 Word Limit

Learning Outcomes  Distinguish between leadership and management in an

organisation, and yet understand their essential relationship to each other.

 Critically analyse the roles and functions of management and the impact of leadership in an organisation.

 Understand and apply different theories of management in organisational contexts.

 Discuss and evaluate the role that ethics, values, and cultural diversity play in an organisation and their influence on the performance of its managers.

Submission By 23:59 (SYD time) Sunday of the end of Module 3

Weighting 40%

Total Marks 40 marks

Context:

The assessment suite in this subject is designed to provide students with a framework to

understand organisational behaviour 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 draw up a report on an organisation they are either working or have worked

recently. You will work on the same organisation for both your assessments; so choose your

organisation carefully.

Your report will demonstrate your clear understanding of the 1-3 modules that includes the

role of a good leader, functions of management, management theories, ethics and diversity.

You will use all the information from 1-3modules and will then expand your discussion on a

specific management issue relevant to the organisation.

A specific management issue could include the organisational structure; communication and

employee morale; the management style of leaders; ethical business practices; or a lack of

MGMT6012 Assignment One Brief Page 2 of 6

organisational diversity – or there could be other issues. You will need to critically evaluate

this issue in the chosen organisational context drawing from a relevant management theory.

The case study report should include:

 an introduction to the organisation and a brief justification of why you have selected

this organisation;

 a methodology outlining the qualitative research method, your data

sources/collection techniques, and your data analysis and interpretation technique

(e.g. content analysis);

 a review of management theory discussed in Modules 1 and 2 which is relevant to

the is40sue of investigation in the chosen organisational context (e.g. management

style);

 a critical examination of the role of ethics and diversity relevant to the chosen

organisation is important (Module 3);

 drawing from the findings, provide recommendations and suggestions to the

organisation on how to improve the management issue in the future; and

 evidence of research should be reflected through the use of a reasonable number

(10-15) of high-quality relevant academic materials (see the list of potential journals

below).

The word limit for this report is 2,000 and this excludes the following sections: title page,

executive summary, table of contents, references list, appendices, citations, tables and

graphs. Students should submit one file through Turnitin. Please review the Turnitin

percentage carefully to confirm that the total percentage does not exceed 25% as well as

any single source does not account for more than 5%.

There are a number of forms this report could take. The exact form of the report will

depend on the additional research the student will undertake. For example, students may

find sufficient data from internal publications or external media reports. Students should

aim for the demonstration of deep learning, founded on theory from academic sources and

data from their own research.

Students should also refer to the Handout in Module Two – Information Gathering and

Naturally Occurring Data. This handout highlights a variety of data sources available to the

manager, both internally and externally, to help them make decisions. This data is also

available to students if they select the right organisation and are prepared to conduct the

research.

Students should search for internal data about the organisation – official websites, annual

reports, strategic plans, other publications (newsletters, CSR reports, codes of conduct) and

also media releases, digital media and social media published by the organisation. Students

should also search externally for data about the organisation – Australian Bureau of

Statistics, Ibis world, industry associations’ database, media reports, journal articles,

feedback from customers or commentary from employees and other stakeholders.

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Students will need to filter the data from the above sources and use only data that is

relevant to the management of the organisation. The relevant data sources should be

summarised in the Methodology section, and then used throughout the report to explain

the management practices of the organisation. Students should stay focused on the topics

from the first three modules of the subject and not be distracted by other functions of the

organisation (for example marketing, financial performance).

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.

List of Journals to be considered:

 Academy of Management Journal

 Academy of Management Review

 Academy of Management Perspectives

 Strategic Management Journal

 Management International Review

 Journal of International Management

 California Management Review

 Journal of Business Venturing

 Research Policy

 Journal of International Business Studies

 International Business Review

 Journal of Business Review

MGMT6002 Assignment One Brief Page 4 of 6

Learning Rubrics

There are numerous ways to interpret the assessment brief. This rubric should not be used as a prescription or tick-the-box list of

requirements but as a description of an amalgam of several possible interpretations and the standards they might take. The assessment will

be graded holistically, based on the criteria in the leftmost column. Your interpretation may not match the rubric exactly as you may extend

the requirements, using your initiative to demonstrate your mastery of the subject matter. Additionally, you may demonstrate elements

described in the Advanced column and still be graded ‘Functional’ for one or more of the criteria (the reverse trend is also possible). Higher

performing submissions will depend on wider reading, rather than on the rubric verbatim.

MGMT6002 Assignment One Brief Page 5 of 6

Assessment Attributes Fail (Unacceptable)

Pass (Functional)

Credit (Proficient)

Distinction (Advanced)

High Distinction (Exceptional)

Methodology and Data Sources

20%

Little or no appreciation for the role of methodology in undertaking a case study approach.

Demonstration of role of methodology but has confused methods or has provided a cursory or incomplete account of the employed methodology.

Good demonstration of research methodology. Needs further consideration of the role that methodology plays to as to make it more prominent in the report.

Excellent demonstration of methodology. A complete account of methodology is provided, which appropriately contextualises the report.

Exceptional demonstration of methodology and a model answer provided.

Organisational Theory

20%

Little or no integration with theoretical concepts introduced in the subject or with others found with broader reading.

Integration with theory is attempted but needs greater attention to demonstrate mastery with the subject matter.

Good integration with theoretical concepts introduced in the subject. Some greater, tighter integration is needed.

Excellent integration with theory, very well presented, skilfully manages cohesion and paraphrasing.

Exceptional integration with theoretical material from the subject and with broader reading the student has engaged in. A model answer provided.

Ethics and Diversity

15%

Ignorance of ethical underpinnings of the case study. Fails to identify ethical, cultural or normative frameworks to the case study.

Attempt at highlighting ethical considerations is shown but need considerable development to ascertain an acceptable level of understanding.

Good attempt at demonstration of ethical considerations in the case study. Some greater thought is needed to attain mastery of the concepts.

Very good demonstration of understanding of ethical, cultural and normative frameworks applicable to the case study.

Skilfully incorporates and makes ethical considerations a feature of the report. A clear and complete understanding is demonstrated.

MGMT6002 Assignment One Brief Page 6 of 6

Assessment Attributes Fail (Unacceptable)

Pass (Functional)

Credit (Proficient)

Distinction (Advanced)

High Distinction (Exceptional)

Evaluation of strategic position and options (Recommendations)

30%

Specific positions and options fail to take into account complexities or positions and options are unsupported.

Presents and succinctly discusses relevant and supported strategic position and options.

Presents and succinctly discusses relevant and supported strategic position and options and includes limitations.

Presents and succinctly discusses relevant and supported strategic position and options and includes limitations and implications.

Presents and succinctly discusses relevant and supported strategic position and options, includes limitations and implications, and offers alternatives.

Effective Communication

5%

Difficult to understand for audience, no logical/clear structure, poor flow of ideas, argument lacks supporting evidence. Audience cannot follow the line of reasoning.

Information, arguments and evidence are presented in a way that is not always clear and logical. Line of reasoning is often difficult to follow.

Information, arguments and evidence are well presented, mostly clear flow of ideas and arguments. Line of reasoning is easy to follow.

Information, arguments and evidence are very well presented; the presentation is logical, clear and well supported by evidence. Demonstrates cultural sensitivity.

Expertly presented; the presentation is logical, persuasive, and well supported by evidence, demonstrating a clear flow of ideas and arguments. Engages and sustains audience’s interest in the topic, demonstrates high levels of cultural sensitivity. Effective use of diverse presentation aids, including graphics.

Correct citation of key resources and evidence using APA 6th edition reference style

10%

Demonstrates inconsistent use of good quality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop ideas.

Demonstrates use of credible and relevant resources to support and develop ideas, but these are not always explicit or well developed.

Demonstrates use of high quality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop ideas.

Demonstrates use of good quality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop arguments and statements. Shows evidence of wide scope within the organisation for sourcing evidence.

Demonstrates use of high-quality, credible and relevant resources to support and develop arguments and position statements. Shows evidence of wide scope within and without the organisation for sourcing evidence.