GROUP ASSIGNMENT #2 Organizational Behaviour in the Real World VALUE: 20% (marked out of 20) Groups of up to 5 students Everyone receives the same grade Overview and Learning Goals: The purpose of...

complete about 8 pages excluding title page and reference page. due by august 6 at 6am eastern time canada.


GROUP ASSIGNMENT #2 Organizational Behaviour in the Real World VALUE: 20% (marked out of 20) Groups of up to 5 students Everyone receives the same grade Overview and Learning Goals: The purpose of this assignment is to analyze an organization and apply organizational behaviour theories, terms and concepts. The organization may be a place which you have personal knowledge of, an organization someone you know works at or an organization you think might be interesting to study. This assignment works best when the organization you choose is large enough to provide information and material to examine. You will be interviewing someone from the organization as part of your analysis. 1. Form a team of up to 5 people. 2. Choose two or three topics from our course that interest you. For example you might choose Motivation (Chapt. 5), Conflict and Negotiation (Chapt 10) and Groups and Teams (Chapt 9). You may choose any chapter from 4 to 13 or chapter 17. 3. Choose a company and research it. 4. Create questions that you will ask at your interview to help you uncover how this particular organization deals with these topics. (See end of assignment sheet for sample questions) 5. Interview the person. ***Very important. Please read the section on professional and ethical guidelines regarding this part of the assignment and ensure you follow them. 6. Compile what you learned. To what extent do the theories we’ve learned apply? To what extend do they not apply? What did you learn? 7. Create a report. What do I include in the report? Report Style – A report will have the following key elements:  Cover page  Introduction – Think of this as the roadmap for the reader (me). “In this report we will first provide background on the company we chose, the individual we interviewed, and the industry. Next we will examine how the company approaches reward & recognition, teamwork, etc. etc.” Set the stage so the reader knows what to expect.  Background – Provide background on the company and who you chose to interview. What is their role? How long have they been with the company? Provide anything that will help the reader understand the context.  Three sections – This is the analysis part where you detail what you learned about each of the topics. If you chose motivation, you would include what our text tells us about motivation and compare and contrast it with what you learned actually happens in “real life” at the company. This may come from your interview and also from research you did online. You can add interest to your report by including direct quotes from the individual you interviewed as well as charts and/ graphs.  Conclusion – Re-state what you said you’d do in your introduction, and then include a synopsis about what you learned.  Appendix – Include the following: o Reference page o Your interview questions and field notes o Chart detailing key elements in the project and what each person on your team did Other:  APA format and referencing required  Report should be 8 – 10 pages excluding cover page and appendix Professional Guidelines As you will be interviewing someone about their organization, it is important to understand both the professional and ethical guidelines that govern this kind of activity. Professional  Be sure to clearly state the purpose of the interview and how it fits within the context of this assignment  Make an appointment and stay within your allotted time  Maximum two people from your group to attend the interview  Thank the individual for their time Ethical “Do no harm.” This is the mantra of every good researcher. What this means in practice is:  Protect the individual and their reputation. Explain you will keep their responses confidential and only share with your team and professor. Also explain that you will use a pseudonym (pretend name) when writing about them in your report  If they change their mind about giving the interview – even if this happens after the fact – you must respect their decision and complete the assignment with the data you have already gathered from other sources. It’s also important to let the person know this up front.  Always put what you are doing through the lens of…..”Is there any way this could harm the individual or their organization?” So for example, if they share something that might be perceived as “negative” about how their organization operates, you need to ensure you deal with this in a sensitive way in your report. Sample Questions: Motivation The key to writing a good question is to choose something you are genuinely interested in learning more about and then phrasing the question in a way that encourages the person to share. As they answer, you may find you have more questions or different questions, and that’s okay too.  How does your organization reward and recognize people?  What formal reward programs are in place?  To what extent do managers and leaders use “informal” rewards? (Praise, etc.)  To what extent are these approaches successful?  What generational differences (if any) have you noticed in terms of how people are rewarded and recognized? Names: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ Group Assignment Rubric: Meets few or no requirements Meets some requirements Meets most or all requirements Content of paper: Introduction:  Provides a clear description of the organization to be analyzed and the 2 or 3 OB topics to be explored/analyzed. Research:  Four to six research questions are stated and aligned with the topics.  Interviewee’s name and position/connection to the organization are clearly identified. Other research methods are described (e.g. internet search, library research, etc.)  Research questions and findings are discussed and connections are made to the theories from the textbook. All sources are cited. Conclusion: Concluding paragraph discusses how OB theories are applied in the real world and how this assignment has influenced the group’s understanding of Organizational Behaviour. Chart of who did what and field notes attached: 0 0 – 3 0 0 1 4 – 6 1 2 7 – 10 2 1 Mechanics of paper: Organization/Format/Spelling and Grammar/Readability 0 - 1 2 - 3 4 – 5 TOTAL: This assignment will be marked out of 20 and is worth 20 % of final course grade. /20