02 Jan 13) Use Microsoft Word

Week 1 learning activity

Please read the “Instructor Notes” prior to attempting any Learning Activities. Post initial responses to all learning activities for the week in one post to make it easier for classmates to respond to your posts. You must provide your initial response by Thursday night, and provide responses to more than two classmates by Sunday night for full credit. All responses are to be substantive, showing critical thinking. They must also be free from grammatical and spelling errors (there is a spell check readily available in the response box to assist you). Here are the guidelines:

– Responses must be in paragraph format and be interactive to promote further discussion unless the activity requires otherwise;

– Respond to at least two other class members using these same requirements (full credit will only be issued for more than two responses to other class members);

– Responses must demonstrate critical thinking and be fully justified;

-Use resources from any assigned course material or your own research;

-Use APA formatting for any in-text citations and references. Any information that was not personally researched and originated by you (i.e. surveys you conducted, interviews, observances, etc.) or is ‘common knowledge’ should have in-text citations and references.

Please see our syllabus for a participation rubric, participation instructions, and the “Learning to Use APA” directions for our course (especially for the “How to cite the ebook for this course”).

Learning Activity #1

Please think about the best and worst jobs you have ever had. If you have never had a job, think of a school project instead. What made the job or project great or horrible?

After seeing what other students have posted (go back and edit your response after your initial post), what do you think are the most common features of the best jobs? What are the most common features of the worst jobs?

Learning Activity #2

Often our own stereotypes get in the way when opening our minds to new and creative ideas. So, for this learning activity, please state one stereotype you believe exists towards yourself (cultural, religious, or other) and two stereotypes that exists towards people whom are different from you. Why do you think the stereotypes exist? Do you feel these stereotypes should be changed? If so, how would you change them in a workplace?

Learning Activity #3

Do you think younger and older people are similar in what makes them happier at work and committed to their companies? Do you think there are male and female differences? Research this using our course materials and explain your answers. Remember to cite and reference using APA format. Please reference at the end of the post, rather than attaching a separate reference page.

Week 2 learning activity

Please read all “Instructor Notes” prior to attempting the learning activity questions. Post responses to both learning activities in one post to make it easier for classmates to respond to your posts. You must provide your initial response by Thursday night, and provide responses to more than two classmates by Sunday night for full credit. All responses are to be substantive, showing critical thinking. They must also be free from grammatical and spelling errors (there is a spell check readily available in the response box to assist you). Here are the guidelines:

– Responses must be in paragraph format and be interactive to promote further discussion unless the activity requires otherwise;

– Respond to at least two other class members using these same requirements (full credit will only be issued for more than two responses to other class members);

– Responses must demonstrate critical thinking and be fully justified;

-Use resources from any assigned course material or own research;

-Use APA formatting for any in-text citations and references.

Please see our syllabus for a participation rubric, participation instructions, and the “Learning to Use APA” directions for our course (especially for the “How to cite the ebook for this course”).

Learning Activity #1

Take a look at the video posted in the “Instructor’s Notes” section of our “Content” area. Then, follow the link immediately below that states “Take the test at:”. Once you have completed the true colors test, please answer the following questions:

What color are you primarily? Are there secondary colors, or did you tie on two colors? Does this surprise you? If so, in what way? How do you think you would use this information in finding jobs, or in hiring a potential candidate?

By the way, as you can see, I am rather green! 🙂

Learning Activity #2

a) Which types of emotions are most socially accepted in the workplace? Why do you think this is?

b) What are factors that affect your emotions?

c) Share an example of either positive or negative emotional contagion. How did it start and stop?

Week 3 learning activity

Please read all “Instructor Notes” prior to attempting the learning activity questions. Post responses to both learning activities in one post to make it easier for classmates to respond to your posts. You must provide your initial response by Thursday night, and provide responses to more than two classmates by Sunday night for full credit. All responses are to be substantive, showing critical thinking. They must also be free from grammatical and spelling errors (there is a spell check readily available in the response box to assist you). Here are the guidelines:

– Responses must be in paragraph format and be interactive to promote further discussion unless the activity requires otherwise;

– Respond to at least two other class members using these same requirements (full credit will only be issued for more than two responses to other class members);

– Responses must demonstrate critical thinking and be fully justified;

-Use resources from any assigned course material or own research;

-Use APA formatting for any in-text citations and references.

Please see our syllabus for a participation rubric, participation instructions, and the “Learning to Use APA” directions for our course (especially for the “How to cite the ebook for this course”).

Learning Activity #1

To absolutely ensure you read the instructor notes and class announcements, please do this first. Then, copy the learning activity described in the instructor notes and proceed with the activity in this discussion. Remember to use the instructions and rubric to ensure a good grade!

Learning Activity #2

Please complete the first case study and submit in accordance with the instructions found in the week 3 content area. This is a major grade, so please follow the instructions and rubric carefully!!!

Week 4 learning activity

Please read all “Instructor Notes” prior to attempting the learning activity questions. Post responses to both learning activities in one post to make it easier for classmates to respond to your posts. You must provide your initial response by Thursday night, and provide responses to more than two classmates by Sunday night for full credit. All responses are to be substantive, showing critical thinking. They must also be free from grammatical and spelling errors (there is a spell check readily available in the response box to assist you). Here are the guidelines:

– Responses must be in paragraph format and be interactive to promote further discussion unless the activity requires otherwise;

– Respond to at least two other class members using these same requirements (full credit will only be issued for more than two responses to other class members);

– Responses must demonstrate critical thinking and be fully justified;

-Use resources from any assigned course material or own research;

-Use APA formatting for any in-text citations and references.

Please see our syllabus for a participation rubric, participation instructions, and the “Learning to Use APA” directions for our course (especially for the “How to cite the ebook for this course”).

Learning Activity #1

For the Chapter Eight discussion, take a look at http://www.takingontobacco.org/intro/funny.html to see a list of some cultural misunderstandings. Pick one dealing with communication that especially appealed to you and discuss it. How do you think the misunderstanding could have been avoided? Do you have another example of a cultural misunderstanding dealing with communication?

Learning Activity #2

Think about a time or times in which you were a member of a team, whether in school or in another type of organization or workplace. Was it an informal team or a formal one? Looking back on the experience or experiences, how do you feel about working in teams? Have you experienced the 80/20 effect or “groupthink”? If so, how did you deal with it? Remember to check back often to respond to other students’ postings.

Week 5 learning activity

Please read all “Instructor Notes” prior to attempting the learning activity questions. Post responses to both learning activities in one post to make it easier for classmates to respond to your posts. You must provide your initial response by Thursday night, and provide responses to more than two classmates by Sunday night for full credit. All responses are to be substantive, showing critical thinking. They must also be free from grammatical and spelling errors (there is a spell check readily available in the response box to assist you). Here are the guidelines:

– Responses must be in paragraph format and be interactive to promote further discussion unless the activity requires otherwise;

– Respond to at least two other class members using these same requirements (full credit will only be issued for more than two responses to other class members);

– Responses must demonstrate critical thinking and be fully justified;

-Use resources from any assigned course material or own research;

-Use APA formatting for any in-text citations and references.

Please see our syllabus for a participation rubric, participation instructions, and the “Learning to Use APA” directions for our course (especially for the “How to cite the ebook for this course”).

Learning Activity #1

a. Has there been a time in which you have had a conflict either at work or at school? Describe the conflict and state what type of conflict it was.

b. To what extent do you attempt to satisfy your own concerns when you’re trying to resolve a conflict?

c. To what extent do you attempt to satisfy the other party’ concerns when you’re trying to resolve a conflict?

Learning Activity #2

a. What evidence did you see of creativity in the decision making process used in designing the Boeing 787? What process would you have used to improve creativity in the process?

b. Passengers interviewed in the clip all seemed to want bigger seats, yet the seats in the 787 Dreamliner are not any bigger. Since it seems unlikely that Boeing was not aware of the desire for bigger seats, why do you suppose larger seats were not included in the design, yet larger restrooms were?

Week 6 learning activity

Please read all “Instructor Notes” prior to attempting the learning activity questions. Post responses to both learning activities in one post to make it easier for classmates to respond to your posts. You must provide your initial response by Thursday night, and provide responses to more than two classmates by Sunday night for full credit. All responses are to be substantive, showing critical thinking. They must also be free from grammatical and spelling errors (there is a spell check readily available in the response box to assist you). Here are the guidelines:

– Responses must be in paragraph format and be interactive to promote further discussion unless the activity requires otherwise;

– Respond to at least two other class members using these same requirements (full credit will only be issued for more than two responses to other class members);

– Responses must demonstrate critical thinking and be fully justified;

-Use resources from any assigned course material or own research;

-Use APA formatting for any in-text citations and references.

Please see our syllabus for a participation rubric, participation instructions, and the “Learning to Use APA” directions for our course (especially for the “How to cite the ebook for this course”).

Learning Activity #1

Please take the Leadership Self-Assessment Activity found in the Week 6 content page and discuss your findings in the discussion area. Were you surprised at your score? What are your strengths? What are your opportunities for growth?

Learning Activity #2

Once you’ve seen the video in the instructor’s notes and read the Change Leadership section of Chapter 14, please respond to the following questions:

1. What does the cheese represent?

2. What does the maze represent?

3. What does the cartoon say to you in relation to change?

4. What type of decisions were made by each of the characters (use the book to help you with the answer)?

5. If you had these 4 people working for you (if they were actual people), how would you supervise each personality?

Please use as many specifics from our chapter as you can in answering these questions. Use ideas such as: planned or unplanned change, change agents, and/or resistance to change.

Learning Activity #3

Discuss the organizational culture of one of the organizations in which you have worked or volunteered. Did it encourage cultural unity? Were there problems in the organization because of its culture? What problems could you see with the culture of The Scooter Store? How would you resolve these problems (either in the organization you worked for or The Scooter Store?

Week 7 learning activity

Please read all “Instructor Notes” prior to attempting the learning activity questions. Post responses to both learning activities in one post to make it easier for classmates to respond to your posts. You must provide your initial response by Thursday night, and provide responses to more than two classmates by Sunday night for full credit. All responses are to be substantive, showing critical thinking. They must also be free from grammatical and spelling errors (there is a spell check readily available in the response box to assist you). Here are the guidelines:

– Responses must be in paragraph format and be interactive to promote further discussion unless the activity requires otherwise;

– Respond to at least two other class members using these same requirements (full credit will only be issued for more than two responses to other class members);

– Responses must demonstrate critical thinking and be fully justified;

-Use resources from any assigned course material or own research;

-Use APA formatting for any in-text citations and references.

Please see our syllabus for a participation rubric, participation instructions, and the “Learning to Use APA” directions for our course (especially for the “How to cite the ebook for this course”).

Learning Activity #1

Consider a job you held in the past. Analyze the job using the framework of the job characteristics model.

Learning Activity #2

Take a look at the various types of power listed in Chapter 13. I’d like each of you to think of a leader whom you feel has truly influenced your life directly (not someone whom you have heard of “secondhand”).

Describe the types of power this leader used and the impacts that were achieved through this use of power. Is there someone who has influenced you in the opposite way, by abusing their power? If so, how?

Week 8 learning activity

Please read all “Instructor Notes” prior to attempting the learning activity questions. Post responses to both learning activities in one post to make it easier for classmates to respond to your posts. You must provide your initial response by Thursday night, and provide responses to more than two classmates by Sunday night for full credit. All responses are to be substantive, showing critical thinking. They must also be free from grammatical and spelling errors (there is a spell check readily available in the response box to assist you). Here are the guidelines:

– Responses must be in paragraph format and be interactive to promote further discussion unless the activity requires otherwise;

– Respond to at least two other class members using these same requirements (full credit will only be issued for more than two responses to other class members);

– Responses must demonstrate critical thinking and be fully justified;

-Use resources from any assigned course material or own research;

-Use APA formatting for any in-text citations and references.

Please see our syllabus for a participation rubric, participation instructions, and the “Learning to Use APA” directions for our course (especially for the “How to cite the ebook for this course”).

Learning Activity #1

1. What three things are you going to do this week to make your work/school/team environment better?

2. What did you learn the most from this course?

3. What do you wish you learned more of during this course?

Assignment 1: Individual Level Analysis Instructions

Instructions

Assignment 1: Individual Level of Analysis – Reach for the Stars (15% of course grade)

Purpose:

To recognize and better understand the effect of individual characteristics and behavior (individual level of analysis) on organizational performance and effectiveness.

Related to the following course objective:

Maximize individual contributions to the organization based on an understanding of individual behavior

Deliverable:

Single-spaced paper 1200-1500 words in length, in addition to a cover page (containing your name, the course name, the date, and the professor’s name) and bibliography. See template provided.

Introduction to Assignment

For this assignment, you will read and analyze Case Study 1: Reach for the Stars—Developing Salespeople, Achieving Organizational Success. The case describes information and key observations concerning manager and worker behavior. You will identify and analyze the critical incidents (problems, situations, issues, and consequences) in the case influencing individual and organizational performance and effectiveness, making appropriate recommendations to improve problems, meet challenges, and take advantage of opportunities. Overall, your analysis should include:

Identification and explanation of all relevant OB concepts and theories, using examples where appropriate

Explanation of the specific case characteristics, incidents and/or situations that addresses the concepts or theories

Analysis of the relevance of understanding individual characteristics

Analysis of pros and cons of key incidents or situations (i.e., what are the drawbacks and/or positives associated with the situation as it related to individual performance and/or organizational productivity and effectiveness?)

Specific recommendations to address problems, challenges, and opportunities, and a proposed follow-up or evaluation

Read and follow all the Instructions carefully. The paper must clearly demonstrate your ability to understand how and why individual characteristics and behavior (e.g. personality, values, attitude, perception) influence organizational performance and effectiveness. As a 400-level course, critical thinking should be demonstrated. For a helpful explanation of the expectations at this level, see Level D of Bloom’s Taxonomy https://www.uvic.ca/services/counselling/assets/docs/Blooms%20taxonomy.pdf . To demonstrate critical thinking, we look to see how skillfully students logically conceptualize the material through application of theories and concepts, and analysis of it to reach an answer or conclusion. It is to read the scenario through the lense of our course content and, with that understanding, interpret the scenario. Strive to be original along with applying data, information, and ideas from the required reading and outside research. Use examples and research information to support claims. Use American Psychological Association (APA) format for in-text citations and the reference list. Use the comprehensive outline format described in Instruction 9 to present your research findings, analysis, recommendations, and significant personal learning.

Instructions

1) Review the above assignment purpose, course objective, and introduction as well as the Assignment Grading rubric.

2) Read the case below, Reach for the Stars—Developing Salespeople, Achieving Organizational Success. Your analysis must evidence understanding of the case’s specific characters, context, and circumstances. Avoid generalizations that might apply to similar cases available on the Internet or in previous courses.

3) Compose a brief abstract (no longer than a paragraph) synthesizing case highlights, putting the characters and incidents in context, and generally setting the scene for the detailed analysis to follow.

4) Identify and analyze at least three critical incidents (problems, situations, issues, and consequences) in the case that influenced individual and organizational performance and effectiveness. Explain how and why you think the incidents influenced individual and organizational performance and effectiveness. Discuss the pros and cons of key incidents or situations (i.e., what are the drawbacks and/or positives associated with the situation as it related to individual performance and/or organizational productivity and effectiveness?)

5) Make appropriate recommendations to address problems, meet challenges, and take advantage of opportunities, and propose follow-up or evaluation.

6) Draw data, information, and ideas from at least six required resources (at least two from each of Weeks 1, 2, and 3) listed in the weekly Schedules, plus at least two credible, authoritative, relevant outside sources for a total of at least eight references. Your outside references should show a mix of scholarly and applied/practical sources, largely drawn from UMUC’s Information Library System (ILS), and including classic writings. Review APA citation materials and Tips on Research Sources in Course Content. Cite research sources within the paper’s body using APA in-text formatting. Include in the Reference list with complete source information at the end of the paper. See specific formatting and heading template instructions below in Instruction 9. Include publication date within in-text citations. You are expected to write your own unique thoughts, using quotes only when the source’s verbatim statements uniquely enhance meaning and understanding. Deductions will be taken when quotes are overused and found to be unnecessary. Don’t reword passages from your resource. Instead, explain to your reader its meaning and importance. WRITE IN OBJECTIVE THIRD PERSON VOICE.

In-text citation:

(Casey, 2002, p. 50). [Include publication date]

Reference citation:

Casey, C. (2002). Critical Analysis of Organizations: Theory, practice, revitalization. London: Sage.

7) Identify and present in bold font at least six different OB concepts, theories, methods, strategies, or practices in your analysis. Demonstrate through context and/or endnotes your understanding of the terms’ definition and meaningfulness to the meet the assignment’s purpose and course objectives. Note: to quote the definition is not the same as demonstrating your understanding of it.

8) Determine what significant learning and understanding you gained from your research and analysis. Identify and evaluate at least three valuable take-aways you learned from your organization change analysis, and how you envision specifically applying them to your job or career.

9) Use the outline below for headings and subheadings. Your deliverable will use a comprehensive outline format with expository content under each heading to present your analysis, evaluation and recommendations in standard composition style. Feel free to add other headings, subheadings or make modifications as your findings, ideas, and assertions dictate. Use examples and cite support sources as presented above.

Title page (your name, the course name, assignment, the name of the organization, the date, and instructor’s name)

Case abstract

I. Brief introduction

II. Critical incidents (occurrence, fact, change, e.g., product diversification and market growth as reflected by “expanded its product line from aging-related to sports injury-related medical supplies and equipment” in the case study)

Critical incident 1

Critical incident 2

Critical incident 3

[and so forth]

III. Recommendations (e.g., offer workshops or individual coaching with personality tests to more effectively identify, validate, share, and utilize personality traits, preference strengths, job-fit methods, and interactionist perspectives—see Saylor/OB section 3.1)

Include follow up (or evaluation—this is an area in which outside research and resources would be a plus; e.g., how will management determine if the intervention recommended above actually worked? Perhaps assessing personality trait-based problem behavior during performance refers could work, or including manager reports from the personality tests referred to, say, three and six months after the intervention would provide useful results…?)

IV. Significant learning (see Instruction 8 for details about take-aways)

Learning or Take-away 1

Learning or Take-away 2

Learning or Take-away 3:

…and so forth

References (required course materials and outside research sources) listed on their own separate page in APA style.

10) Use the outline template provided to submit your report. WRITE IN OBJECTIVE THIRD PERSON VOICE. The document should be approximately 1200-1500 words in length single spaced (excluding cover page and references), but rest assured that substance is more important than length. Again, APA reference format is required.

11) Submit the papers an attachment in your Assignment Folder by the due date, as well as to the Turnitin folder created by your instructor.

Assignment 2: Group Level Analysis Instructions

Instructions

Assignment 2: Group-Level of Analysis – BVS PetGourmand (25% of course grade)

Purpose:

Explore and understand the effect of group behavior, specifically cross-cultural team development and success, on organizational performance and effectiveness, and to learn new or to enhance leading edge presentation skills

Related to the following course objective:

Learn about successful team behavior, how to lead teams, and manage independent teams to accomplish specific goals and objectives

Deliverable:

The Portfolio is comprised of two parts:

Part 1–OB research findings from which the presentation (Part 2) will be created. Part 1 should be a comprehensive outline, with expository content under headings and subheadings containing data and information, analyzed, synthesized, assessed and explained in essay form. The outline will have broader and more intensive content—that is, OB-related data, information, concepts, theories, models, methods, practices—than Part 2 because Part 1 will reflect your research and what you have learned about group-level organizational behavior from required weekly resources, outside research, and the weekly discussions. Think of Part 1 as the report you leave with the client after your presentation.

Part 2–Graphic presentation: the distillation of Part 1 into visual form. Included in Assignment 2’s purpose is learning new skills or enhancing existing skills to create innovative presentations applicable to real-world workplace and other professional environments. You may do this by using Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT) or Prezi (an innovative replacement for PPT). For information, go to https://prezi.com/signup/public. Or feel free to use other options such as video (e.g., YouTube) or other innovative graphical presentation application suitable for illustrating synthesized, key data and information from the comprehensive content generated in Part 1. Consider integrating audio or animated elements or a concept map, SWOT analysis, or narration into the presentation to increase impact, meaningfulness and persuasiveness.

The Introduction and additional instructions below provide detailed steps and directions for creating, packaging, and submitting your Portfolio.

Introduction to Assignment Content

For this group-level analysis assignment, you will wear the hat of a rising-star organizational behavior (OB) consultant. You will create a portfolio that includes a written analytical report (Part 1) designed to convince BVS to adopt your recommendations. To do so, you will create a graphic presentation (PPT, Prezi, etc.) that distills the analysis from your report into the most important points you wish to make. Your presentation (Part 2) should demonstrate your ability to interpret and synthesize information, communicate, and your personal style/approach to business. The written analysis is what you would leave behind for them to review after you’ve gone.

Case Study 2: Going Global: What Does it Take to Make Cross-cultural Teams Successful? will serve as the central organizing influence of your Portfolio. The case describes issues, problems, and challenges related to developing high-performing cross-cultural teams in an organization integrating new employees after an acquisition. This project is designed around the following hypothetical situation:

You recently launched an organizational behavior consulting practice, specializing in cross-cultural group and team dynamics and problems. Having done an environmental scan, you know the competition for clients in your niche is stiff. Since the 2008 recession, a number of top-notch OB professionals have established consulting services targeting organizations challenged by cultural diversity, virtual work environments, communication technology, and issues related to restructuring traditional organizations into flatter systems with team-centered processes. One such company is Bon Vivant Specialties (BVS), run by Daniel Chinn, a CEO you met at an international education and development program for high-potential mid-level professionals. Case Study 2,Going Global: What Does it Take to Make Cross-cultural Teams Successful?, represents what you know from talking with Chinn, professional networking, and business and management news and other media. Chinn has widely expressed his interest in hiring an OB practitioner to identify, document, analyze and assess behavioral issues and problems, and recommend intervention strategies, methods, and tools to successfully restructure the company, enhance team performance and effectiveness, and hence organizational performance. To convince Chinn that you are the OB consultant for the job, your report and presentation must be innovative, original, and fresh to distinguish you from your competitors. It must demonstrate your ability to sift through information about workplace behaviors and find the root cause that bind many of these issues, all through the lense of our OB theories. This will give your recommendations the expert command that enable BVS to reach its cross-cultural team restructuring and organization performance goals.

Instructions

1) Review the Assignment 2 Portfolio Grading Rubric, and the assignment purpose, course objective, and introduction above.

2) Read the case, Going Global: What Does it Take to Make Cross-cultural Teams Successful? Your analysis and assessment must evidence understanding of the case’s specific characters, context, incidents and circumstances. Avoid generalizations that might apply to similar cases available on the Internet or in previous courses.

3) Choose a name for your consulting practice, and briefly describe the service you provide (1 or 2 paragraphs).

4) In that description, list and describe at least three OB-relevant knowledge, skills, abilities and learning experiences. Rather than a chronological listing of your experience, this introduction of your hypothetical company should speak of your abilities and past experiences functionally, such as Team Leadership or Team Project Management, and more progressive approaches to professional promotion such as online networking provided by LinkIn.com. Demonstrate your understanding of BVS’s situation and needs by describing your hypothetical background. Describe with verbs such as worked, created, prepared, implemented, conducted, produced, and tell what happened as a result of ‘your’ experience and learning (i.e. explain with verbs such as will use, apply, implement, change, enable, empower). Don’t make it salesy or phony. Be objective, writing in third person voice about your company.

5) In the introduction to the case itself, identify, analyze and prepare to discuss at least three problems and/or issues related to the successful formation, development and operation of cross-cultural teams in the case context

6) Propose and evaluate at least three recommendations, including OB strategies or interventions, that the organization could use to solve problems, address issues, and hence enhance cross-cultural team performance and effectiveness and based on key findings and ideas to maximize ongoing improvements to organizational performance and success. Include self-assessment team tools, training exercises, team development methods, or other similar resources.

7) Draw data, information, and ideas from at least four required resources (at least two from each of Weeks 4 and 5) listed in the Course Content, plus at least four credible, authoritative, relevant outside sources for a total of at least eight references. Your outside references should show a mix of credible OB consultant websites, professional networks and associations (for example, Organizational Behavior Management Network, Society for Human Resource Management, Society for Organizational Behavior), scholarly and applied/practical sources, largely drawn from UMUC’s Information Library System (ILS), and including classic writings. Review APA citation materials and Tips on Research Sources in Course Content. In Part 1 the report, include a Reference list with complete source information at the end of the paper. In Part 2 the Presentation, cite research sources in the notes area. See specific formatting and heading template instructions below in Instruction 9.

You are expected to write your own unique thoughts, using quotes only when the source’s verbatim statements uniquely enhance meaning and understanding. Deductions will be taken when quotes are overused and found to be unnecessary. Don’t reword passages from your resource. Instead, explain to your reader its meaning and importance. WRITE IN OBJECTIVE THIRD PERSON VOICE.

In-text citation:

(Casey, 2002, p. 50). [Include publication date]

Reference citation:

Casey, C. (2002). Critical Analysis of Organizations: Theory, practice, revitalization. London: Sage.

8) Identify and present in bold font at least six different OB concepts, theories, methods, strategies, interventions, or practices in your group level analysis. Demonstrate through context and/or endnotes your understanding of the terms’ definition and meaningfulness to the meet the assignment’s purpose and course objectives.

9) Use the headings and subheadings provided below to organize Part 1 of your Portfolio. This written Portfolio portion will adhere to headings and subheadings labeling analysis and recommendations presented in standard expository form. Bulleted text can be used, as appropriate, however OB group-level analysis, synthesis, and assessment must be presented in composition format under each heading. The objective is to create a comprehensive OB analysis based on research data and information on which your presentation will be based and to which you as the consultant/presenter could refer for additional information as needed. Feel free to create additional subheadings as needed.

Cover page (Your name, course title, assignment, date, and instructor’s name)

Consulting practice name and services provided, OB-relevant knowledge, skills, abilities and work experiences.

Analysis of PetGourmand

Critical incident 1

Critical incident 2

Critical incident 3

[and so forth]

III. Recommendations—OB strategies or interventions, tools, and resources

Recommendation 1

Recommendation 2

Recommendation 3

References

10) For Part 1, use the outline template provided to submit your report. WRITE IN OBJECTIVE THIRD PERSON VOICE. The document should be approximately 1000-1200 words in length single spaced (excluding cover page and references), but rest assured that substance is more important than length. Again, APA reference format is required.

11) For Part 2, create a presentation using PPT, Prezi or video (e.g., YouTube) to illustrate synthesized, key information and resources delineated and synthesized in Part 1. It should be organized similar to the report. Begin with a slide capturing the same information given in the written report so you are identified.

12) Submit your Portfolio(two files, Part 1 and Part 2)to your Assignment Folder by the due date. Submit Part 1 to Turnitin set up by your instructor.

Assignment 3: Organizational Level of Analysis Instructions

Instructions

Assignment 3: Organizational Level of Analysis – Analyzing a real organization (30% of course grade)

Purpose:

To explore and better understand organizational performance and effectiveness through an organizational level perspective.

Related to the following course objectives:

based on an understanding of human behavior, create and sustain an organizational environment that leads to high performance

analyze and respond to leadership challenges such as decision making, change, conflict resolution, and organizational commitment in an organization at every level

Deliverable:

Approximately 1500-2000 word length single spaced report including a cover page (your name, assignment title, course name, the date, and the professor’s name) and research references.

Introduction to Assignment

For this assignment, you will research and analyze the organizational performance and effectiveness of one of the organizations listed below. You will also propose OB-relevant recommendations for change and improvement.

IKEA

Google

Costco

Apple

Amazon

American Airlines

US Department of Homeland Security

You do not need to confirm which company you are analyzing. It will be assumed you will choose one of these companies. Alternative organizations with unique challenges may be selected for analysis but will require instructor approval. Examples would be the privatization of Dell, or an organization for which you have a career-oriented reason. To discuss alternative Final Project topics, post a message under the Ask the Professor discussion board.

Your analysis should include:

an interview, if available, of organizational members, stakeholders, or qualified relevantly-experienced OB experts familiar with your topic

research findings of the organization’s web sites

data, information and ideas, particularly from Weeks 6 and 7 readings/resources, and at least four outside academic or credible, respected business publications

a SWOT analysis on the organization.

documented and evaluated OB strategies or interventions that the organization could use to enhance its overall performance and effectiveness.

proposed and evaluated OB-related recommendations for improvements in the organization.

Read and follow all the Instructions carefully. Your analysis should evidence critical thinking skills (review Bloom’s Taxonomy) in identifying and explaining organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Emphasize course materials and resources assigned for Weeks 6 and 7; namely, but not limited to, managing groups and teams, group behavior, work and self-managed teams, communication, conflict and negotiation, and decision-making, along with outside research material. Strive for originality and depth. Use examples and research information to support claims. Use American Psychological Association (APA) format for in-text citations and the reference list. Use the comprehensive outline format described in Instruction 9 to present your research, findings, analysis, and recommendations.

Instructions

1) Review the assignment purpose, course objective, and introduction above and the grading rubric at the end of these instructions.

2) Review library and Internet resources on one of the approved organizations before making a selection. Choose from the list and research an organization based on your level of interest in the subject, applicability to your job or career goals, what you would like to learn about, and feasibility for successful performance. Focus research on factors described in Instructions 3, 4, and 5.

3) Identify, analyze and evaluate OB concepts/theories that create an environment (work and organization design) that leads to high performance.

4) Identify, analyze and evaluate strategies, policies, and procedures relating to leadership challenges such as decision making, change, conflict resolution, and organizational commitment in an organization at every level.

5) Identify, analyze and evaluate techniques relating to human resources policies and practices (personal selection, training and development, and performance evaluation).

6) Create a SWOT analysis using standard four-square format for each component and bullet points (Google SWOT analysis template for samples) to present organizational level factors identified and examined in Instructions 3, 4, and 5.

7) Discuss each SWOT component analyzing and evaluating the organization’s environment, leadership, and human resources policies and practices.

8) Create at least three recommendations, synthesizing key findings and ideas to maximize ongoing improvements to organizational performance and success.

9) Draw data, information, and ideas from at least six required resources (at least three from each of Weeks 6 and 7) listed in the weekly content of our classroom, plus at least four credible, authoritative, relevant outside sources for a total of at least ten references. Your outside references should show a mix of scholarly and applied/practical sources, largely drawn from UMUC’s Information Library System (ILS), and including classic writings. Review APA citation materials and Tips on Research Sources in Course Content. Cite research sources within the paper’s body using APA in-text formatting. Include a Reference list with complete source information at the end of the paper. See specific formatting and heading template instructions below in Instruction 12. Alphabetize references under each subheading. You are expected to write your own unique thoughts, using quotes only when the source’s verbatim statements uniquely enhance meaning and understanding. Deductions will be taken when quotes are overused and found to be unnecessary. Don’t reword passages from your resource. Instead, explain to your reader its meaning and importance

In-text citation:

(Casey, 2002, p. 50). [Include publication date

Reference citation:

Casey, C. (2002). Critical Analysis of Organizations: Theory, practice, revitalization. London: Sage

10) Identify and present in bold font at least eight different OB concepts, theories, methods, strategies, interventions, or practices in your organizational level analysis. Demonstrate through context and/or endnotes your understanding of the terms’ definition and meaningfulness to the meet the assignment’s purpose and course objectives.

11) Determine what significant learning and understanding you gained from your research and analysis. Identify and evaluate at least three valuable take-aways you learned from this analysis, and how you envision applying them to your job or career.

12) Use the outline below for topic and subtopic headings and subheadings. Additional subheadings may be added as needed to present an analysis that meets the purpose, objectives and instructions provided. As a report, under each heading, standard essay form should be used in discussing the analysis and subsequently the recommendations. Use examples and cite support sources as presented above.

Title page your name, course name, assignment, date, and instructor’s name.

Brief description of organization [name, size, type of business, service and/or products, location]

III. SWOT analysis

1.A. In a table, provide a SWOT with key items bulleted in each category S-W-O-T. Then discuss the elements providing your fuller explanation with examples, making it relevant to our readings (cite). In each area of S-W-O-T address it from the perspective of the organization’s internal/external environment, their leadership and HR policies and practices.

1.IV. Recommendations

Recommendation 1

Recommendation 2

Recommendation 3, etc.

1.VI. Significant learning

Learning or Take-away 1

Learning or Take-away 2

Learning or Take-away 3, etc.

VII. References

13) Use Microsoft Word for your text documents. WRITE IN OBJECTIVE THIRD PERSON VOICE. Be concise and keep your paper at approximately 1500-2000 words in length including cover page and references, but rest assured that substance is more important than length. Again, APA reference format is required.

14) Submit the Final Project paper to your Assignment Folder by the due date. Also upload it to Turnitin established by your instructor.