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Guidebook for PAD 502 Module Assessments 1

Objective of Module Assessments

During this course, you will complete an organizational learning assessment for a real-world organization.

Based on the breakdown of the course into four modules, this effort will proceed in four stages that

culminate in the production of a final report that should be of sufficient quality to share with the

organization.

In this guidebook, you will find the module assessment descriptions and an outline of the expectations for

each.

Selecting an Organization

One of the most important steps in a successful applied project such as this is the selection of the right

organization. I highly recommend that you select a current or past employer, or an organization with which

you serve as a volunteer. The chosen organization must be a public or nonprofit organization.

Communicating and engaging with the organization is a delicate process and influences project use. Please

be sensitive to the needs of the organization for example, in some cases, confidentiality, anonymity and

other issues may arise. When necessary, you should disguise the source of your project (unless the case is

drawn from public records) through use of appropriate pseudonyms. Confidentiality and the general

conduct of the project are entirely your responsibility, so proceed with caution and ethical care.

Please Note: Once you have selected an organization, please go into the Blackboard assignment tab for

week 3 and share the organization with Dr. Bland. In doing so, briefly state why you chose this organization

and discuss your access to the materials and information needed to complete this assignment.

Module 1 Assessment – Organizational Overview (50 Points)

The aim of the module 1 assessment is to get you started on this project and to get you into a frame of mind

that is analytical and begins to demonstrate an understanding of the value of organizational learning to the

organization being studied. This report should be no more than 6 double-spaced typewritten pages (APA

format) and include the following:

A brief account of the organization being investigated, providing sufficient information for the reader to

understand the nature of the organization and its context. This section should include relevant background

information as well as a clear statement of the focus of your case study. For example, it is appropriate to

provide information on the age, size, and history of the organization, the product or services it provides,

and the general nature of its environment.

Following this account, this assessment should demonstrate the value of organizational learning specifically

for your chosen organization and more broadly for good government. This is a critical dimension of your

paper and cannot be overemphasized. Recall that our objective in this course is always to demonstrate the

relevance of sound theory to real-world organizations. In this assessment, however, you are not conducting

any analysis. Instead, you are selling the organization on the need to undergo a learning assessment.

In addition to the grading rubric below, I have included a template of how I would go about conducting this

assignment in the Appendix to this document. In addition to outlining the type of information I am looking

Guidebook for PAD 502 Module Assessments 2

for in this assessment, this template also demonstrates how you ought to go about mapping out module

assessments 2 and 3. This will be the only time I provide such a template.

Grading Rubric Part 1 – Organizational Overview

Content Points

Includes relevant background info (age, size, history, service provided, nature of environment) 15

Demonstrates an understanding of the value of organizational learning for the org and to good

government by introducing and reviewing the ins and outs of the concept 25

Narrative flows logically, sections and paragraphs do not seem disconnected (uses appropriate

transitions, headings, and sub-headings – see writing helps folder on Blackboard) 10

Sources identified, Writing is w/out grammatical errors, and in APA format (potential

deductions)

Total Points for Module 1 Assessment 50

Module 2 Assessment – Learning Assessment from an Instrumental Perspective (100 Points)

In this module assessment, you have been tasked with demonstrating an understanding of how to use the

instrumental perspective to analyze the learning capabilities of your chosen organization. You should

choose and examine your organization on the basis of 3-4 structural variables and determine whether it is

structured in ways that impede or facilitate the learning process. In your analysis, you will need to discuss

how those variables are influencing the flow of information and relate your findings to potential issues in

the various stages of the learning process (problem awareness, analysis and inference, institutionalization).

Prior to conducting the analysis, be sure to introduce the purpose of the paper and the instrumental

perspective, including how you will use it in the analysis.

The assessment should be prepared in a format and style appropriate for delivery to the organization,

including a title page, an abstract, and a clearly organized and professionally written report (essay).

The actual assessment or report should not exceed 6 double-spaced typewritten pages (APA format

(no abstract); Third-Person Active Voice).

Grading Rubric – Instrumental Perspective

Content Points

Organization, purpose, and format – Title page, abstract, written assessment/report 20

Quality of assessment in linking theory/course materials to organization/data: the rigor and soundness of

your analysis and general conclusions (you emphasized the flow of information and the learning process

did not get lost in the analysis)

70

Narrative flows logically, sections and paragraphs do not seem disconnected (uses appropriate transitions

and headings … It is apparent that you have reviewed and followed the advice offered in the writing helps

folder in Blackboard)

10

Sources identified, Writing is w/out grammatical errors, and is in APA format (potential deductions)

Total Points for Module 2 Assessment 100

Module 3 Assessment – Learning Assessment from an Institutional Perspective (100 Points)

In this module assessment, you have been tasked with demonstrating an understanding of how to use the

institutional perspective to analyze the learning capabilities of your chosen organization. This should

Guidebook for PAD 502 Module Assessments 3

include an assessment of the organization’s culture and institutional environment to determine how each

influences or shapes the interpretation of information by the members. In your analysis, you will need to

relate your findings to the various stages of the learning process (problem awareness, analysis and inference,

institutionalization). Prior to conducting the analysis, be sure to introduce the purpose of the paper and the

institutional perspective, including how you will use it in the analysis. The value of this analysis will likely

hinge on your ability to understand, incorporate, and describe the important distinction between an

information-processing view of organizational learning and a social constructionist view of organizational

learning.

The assessment should be prepared in a format and style appropriate for delivery to the organization,

including a title page, an abstract, and a clearly organized and professionally written report (essay).

The actual assessment or report should not exceed 6 double-spaced typewritten pages (APA format

(no abstract); Third-Person Active Voice).

Grading Rubric – Institutional Perspectives

Content Points

Organization, purpose, and format – Title page, abstract, written assessment/report 20

Quality of assessment in linking theory/course materials to organization/data: the rigor and soundness of

your analysis and general conclusions (you emphasized the distinction between the information processing

and social constructionist views and the learning process did not get lost in the analysis)

70

Narrative flows logically, sections and paragraphs do not seem disconnected (uses appropriate transitions

and headings … It is apparent that you have reviewed and followed the advice offered in the writing helps

folder in Blackboard)

10

Sources identified, Writing is w/out grammatical errors, and is in APA format (potential deductions)

Total Points for Module 2 Assessment 100

Module 4 Assessment – Learning Recommendations Memo (50 Points)

In this module assessment, you will be tasked with shifting from a descriptive analysis of how or whether

your organization is learning to a prescriptive analysis. Based on the findings generated in the previous

modules, you must develop a memo that references those reports and offers several recommendations as to

how the organization might increase their likelihood of learning (becoming a learning organization). Here,

there ought to be 2-3 recommendations based on the instrumental perspective and 2-3 based on the

institutional perspective. Prior to offering the recommendations, your memo should briefly reiterate the

value of organizational learning as an overarching management perspective and the findings from the prior

analyses.

Grading Rubric – Recommendations Memo

Content Points

Organization, purpose, format, grammar of memo – See Memo Template 10

Quality of Instrumental Based Recommendations (clearly based on analysis) 20

Quality of Institutional Based Recommendations (clearly based on analysis) 20

Total Points for Module 2 Assessment 50

Appendix: Module 1 Template

Running Head: Abbreviated Title 1

Title of Paper

Author Name

Author Affiliation

Abbreviated Title 2

Abstract

A brief summary of the purpose of this report and all that is accomplished in what is to follow (250 words

or less). This, however, does not serve as or replace the introduction.

Abbreviated Title 3

Here, you must introduce and establish the purpose of the paper (a brief account of your org and a

clear, concise argument as the value of assessing this organization based on the principles of org. learning

… the intro does not get a heading) and provide the reader with some direction as to how things will be

organized. The body of your paper should probably include two major sections, such that each covers one

of the main purposes of the paper. A good intro is usually somewhere between 3 – 5 sentences.

“Name of Your Org” (Major Section 1 Heading)

This section probably should have an introductory section that introduces the organization, briefly

discusses the services it provides, and provides an overview of its value/impact as an org.

History, Age, and Size (Subheading 1 of Section 1)

Here, you ought to discuss the history, age, and size of the org (number of employees, budget,

etc.). And, if you have the information how these things have shifted over time, which you might use as

the transition into the next sub-section.

Environment (Subheading 2 of Section 1)

In relation to what you have shared above, what is the nature of the environment. Is it volatile,

stable, and/or complex? Is the organization under much scrutiny? Are the services it provides well

understood and supported by the public? Is the organization constantly fighting for survival? What

environmental pressures does the organization experience and where do they come from? Who are some

of the primary stakeholders?

Then, given everything that you have discussed in section 1 you need to transition out of this

section and into the next by suggesting that your org could benefit from a learning analysis and the

adoption of org learning as an overarching perspective.

The Value of an Organizational Learning Assessment (Major Section 2 Heading)

This section should begin with some introduction to the concept of organizational learning. This

would likely include a definition and a discussion of how organizational learning might serve as an

overarching perspective for managing organizations, and serve the end of strategic renewal. Then, you

Abbreviated Title 4

could discuss what is meant by strategic renewal (being able to identify problems and explore the new,

while effectively exploiting the old to increase the likelihood that the org will remain relevant and

sustainable). Then, you would want to declare your purpose for the remainder of this section (something

like … “to make the case for the value of org learning to an/your org, the remainder of this section will

outline the key aspects of the concept and discuss importance”).

Org Learning a Multi-Level Process (Subheading 1 of Section 2)

Here, you would address the questions of who learns and how. Then, suggest the importance of

knowing how or whether learning and the various processes are facilitated or obstructed by the dynamics

of the org. What might an organization do with this type of information?

The Potential Depth of Learning

Here, you would introduce the important distinction between single loop and double loop learning

(or reactive vs generative learning). Then, discuss how the depth of learning may differ among orgs, but

the important thing in assessment is to understand whether the org is learning at the depth necessary for

its environmental contingencies.

Transforming the Managerial/Leadership Role

If you really want to go above and beyond, you might discuss how org learning as an overarching

perspective might alter the traditional view of org leadership and management. Then, discuss what Senge

has to offer and the potential value of the three-legged stool. Then, at the end of this section you would

need to transition into the conclusion by suggesting that step one in adopting an organizational learning

perspective is to conduct or undergo an organizational learning perspective.

Conclusion

In the conclusion, you will reiterate the importance of the above information and how it lays the

foundation for something more—an organizational learning assessment. Then, you might briefly

introduce what will come next and how a learning assessment might employ three separate lenses

(instrumental, cultural, and myth perspectives). Of course, all of this should be written as a professional

report and in third-person active.

Abbreviated Title 5

References

Christensen, T., Laegreid, P., Roness, P., & Rovik, K. (2007). Organization theory and the public sector:

Instrument, culture and myth. New York: Routledge.

Romme, G., & Dillen, R. (1997). Mapping the landscape of organizational learning. European

Management Journal, 15(1), 68-78.