Room C/15
22 519 -21-65 kmprystupa@kozminski.edu.pl Please see current information on www.alk.edu.pl
2. Teaching and Learning Strategy
Class Organization
Please see detailed timetable below: dates may differ depending on which group you are attending – you will receive specific timetable with dates on the first day of class).
Attendance and Participation
As a general policy, I do not accept latecomers in this class. People who are more than 5 minutes late for the class will not be allowed to participate in the course.
3. Recommended Readings
Several copies of “Organizational Behaviour and Management” by D. Knights and H.
Willmott are available in the library. This book is an excellent companion to this course and should be also helpful in preparing your final assignment (Essay). It may also be a useful supplementary resource in preparing presentations.
Besides, books (study guides) as these mentioned below provide advice for assignment writing. I would strongly suggest that if you are not confident in your report writing or feel you would benefit from further help in this regard to look to these.
The study skills handbook / Stella Cottrell
The good study guide / Andrew Northedge
The manager's good study guide / Sheila Tyler
4. Module Assessment
2,500 word essay: see deadline in class presentation in VU
The Essay should be submitted via KIBS office, not sent or handed in to tutors!
Case study – students need to read them in advance. The result of work should be delivered at the end of each class.
Essay
The aims of this assignment are:
1) to practice looking at things in depth, to discover how much we normally do not observe so that we are often hardly aware of what is going on around us;
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2) to think through what might be happening to explain what you see, so that you get a better understanding of the complexities of interactions between people in organizations; 3) to practice writing an essay, if you have not had much practice of writing essays in
English;
4) to develop skills of contrasting what you have read with what you have seen, so that you become more skilled as a reader.
5) to learn how to use academic ideas to think through what really goes on in organizations (does it always follow what textbooks say it should?);
6) to therefore bridge the gap between academic ideas and ‘reality’;
7) to develop your thinking skills, so that you can look at a situation and analyse what is going on.
You have to do the following:
1) using guidelines we will be provided in class, you will go out to observe an organization of your choice for a few hours. This could be a café or restaurant, a place in which you work, a library, a gym, the School of Management – anywhere that requires some form of management if it is to function properly. You must not go anywhere that would involve you in breaking any laws or rules, so choose somewhere that is open to the public or that you have easy access to (e.g. somewhere you are working). You must follow the rules of ethnography and notice everything going on around you. Make notes, including notes on how you feel. If it is possible, you can take photos, or do short interviews with the people there (so long as they agree, of course!).
2) Write up an account of what you saw, in as much depth as you possibly can
(around 500 words). You can add photographs, diagrams and drawings if they help your discussion;
3) choose one of the topics discussed in class (also enlisted below) to apply to the ethnographic study you did. The aim is that you should be able to either provide a deep analysis of what was going on in the organization you studied, or explore how something you’ve been studying in textbooks is played out in the real world of organizations.
4) read 6-10 books or papers on the topic you have chosen, summarize them write a literature review that shows what the topic is all about;
and
5) think through your original study and apply your chosen area of theory (e.g. globalization, knowledge economy etc.) to what you saw. You may think about these questions: what happens if I think about what I saw in Company X using my chosen theory? How does the theory help me think in more depth about that organization? How does that organization I studied help me better understand the theory I am exploring?
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Your assignment must be word-processed. Make sure that you proof-read and edit your work before you submit it. Watch out for spelling and grammatical mistakes, ensure there are no inconsistencies and typographical errors, and make sure it is understandable.
5. Length
Having a limit of 2500 words will exercise your judgment and decision making skills.
You will need to determine what content is essential to include, what is peripheral and what is unnecessary. Please ensure your assignment does not exceed 2500 words in length
(+/- 10%).
The assignment must be handed in by the specified date and time – make sure you do not leave it until the last minute. You are reminded that work submitted after this date without
“good cause” will be awarded a mark of zero.
The topics we are covering in the lectures are:
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•
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Diversity Management
Globalisation
Ethics
Trust
Managers as people
6. Structure of essay
The essay may have a structure somewhat similar to the following, although this outline is for guidance only:
Introduction, outlining what the essay will discuss (100 words);
The ethnographic study – a description of your study (500 words) – attach photographs or diagrams if you like;
A brief overview of the perspective (e.g. globalization) you are using (800 words);
An analysis of the organization you studied using the ideas from this theoretical area (700 words);
Conclusion – what have you found and what does it mean? (400 words).
Tips
Once you have done the ethnographic study and read the literature on your chosen topic, you will find that there are many ways of undertaking the analysis of the organization through the chosen perspective. For example, you can be philosophical, and develop a theory of the organization you studied, or you can be practical and develop advice for the organization studied.
For example, if your ethnographic study was of Starbucks, you could: Globalization – explore the branch of Starbucks you were in as part of a global marketing strategy, and show how theories of globalization are played out in the everyday lives of people who drink coffee in cafes;
Ethics – Starbucks proclaims loudly its ethical commitments to coffee producers around the world. In what ways did you observe it doing this, and why do you think it has adopted this stance?
Post colonialism – does Starbucks demonstrate that colonialism still exists, although now it is control of our minds and our desires, rather than of the countries we live in?
Not many of you will have studied Starbucks, but you can apply ideas similar to the above to a vast number of organizations.
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7. How to start writing your essay
Firstly choose a theoretical area that you find interesting - there should be at least one!
Choose one that you will be happy to spend time reading about, and that you want to understand more about. When you have made your choice do a literature search on that topic and find between six and ten papers or book chapters (NOT web-sites) that will provide the foundations of your knowledge on this topic.
In completing your assignment, please ensure that you COMPLETE THIS PROJECT IN
FULL, that is, undertaking a short observational (ethnographic) study, studying one aspect of today’s context in which managers work, and analysing the place you have studied in light of that topic.
You MUST fully reference your assignment, i.e. every paper, book or web-site you have read and used in your discussion must be acknowledged properly. Guidelines for presentation are given below.
There is no minimum word length, but ensure you write sufficient to develop your arguments. Assignments that exceed the maximum permitted length (2,500 words) will be subject to a penalty deduction of marks equivalent to the percentage of additional words over the limit. The limit excludes bibliographies, diagrams, tables, footnotes, tables of contents and appendices of data.
Your assignment must be WORD-PROCESSED. Make sure that you proof-read and edit your work before you submit it. Watch out for spelling and grammatical mistakes, ensure there are no inconsistencies and typographical errors, and make sure it is understandable.
The standard coursework pro forma will be used to provide project feedback. You should familiarize yourself with the criteria on this document, as your work will be assessed against this. You should also note that each category is not equally weighted. In particular, you must demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical concepts and frameworks in your chosen topic.
The assignment must be handed in on the specified date. You are reminded that work submitted after this date without “good cause” will be awarded a mark of zero.
PLEASE SEE THE APPENDICES FOR VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON
REFERENCING, PLAGIARISM AND GUIDELINES ON WHAT EXAMINERS LOOK
FOR. AVOIDING PLAGIARISM IS UTTERLY IMPORTANT. EVERY YEAR
ABOUT 20-30 STUDENTS ARE SUSPECTED OF PLAGIARISM (COPYING) AND
ARE REQUIRED TO RETAKE THE COURSE.
CASE STUDY
Students will be given four case studies. Students need to read them in advance. For case study students will receive points for individual work and team work.
8. Grading
This module requires students to complete two components of assessment, two pieces of coursework 40% and 60%.
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COURSEWORK
Coursework will be awarded a single grade. The guidelines below are provided to aid students in the successful completion of this assignment. Following the advice below will increase your likelihood of gaining a good grade for your assignment.
STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO READ THESE PRIOR TO COMPLETING
AND SUBMITTING THEIR COURSEWORK
Style
The coursework should be written in report style. It is expected that you will present a logical and clearly structured discussion of the issues identified in the question. It should not be a simple narrative or catalogue of factual material that reads like a shopping list. Nor should it be a poetic rambling of personal opinions, with little or no supportive material. Presenting a personal viewpoint may be acceptable, but only if stated objectively and supported by evidence from and analysis of appropriate theory and literature. There are a number of student study guides which provide advice for assignment writing available through the university library. I would strongly suggest that if you are not confident in your report writing or feel you would benefit from further help in this regard to look to these. Good examples include:
Cottrell S. (1999) The Study Skills Handbook. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
(Chapters 7 and 8; pp. 131-187).
Giles K. and Hedge N. (eds.) (1998) The Manager's Good Study Guide.
Milton Keynes: Open University. (Chapters 4 and 5; pp. 81-136).
Northedge A. (1990) The Good Study Guide. Milton Keynes: Open
University. (Chapter 6; pp. 156-201).
In completing your assignment, please ensure that it ADDRESSES THE
QUESTION AS SET, and do not fall into the trap of talking about an issue in general terms. This is the number one cause of students failing to get the marks that their time and efforts deserve.
Your assignment must be WORD-PROCESSED. Before submission, please ensure that you proof-read and edit your piece of work. It is better to do so a day or two after completing your final draft. In that way, it is like looking at it anew.
Watch out for spelling and grammatical mistakes, ensure there are no inconsistencies and typographical errors, and make sure it is understandable.
Referencing
The requirement stated above for work supported by evidence from and analysis of appropriate theory and literature requires that your essay be referenced throughout and that it will conclude with a reference section indicating the sources you have used. This should provide full bibliographic information for all references used, in alphabetical order by first author’s surname. Failure to include references will result in a significant reduction in your mark.
There exist a number of alternative referencing styles. Whichever you choose, please be consistent. The minimum requirements are that where references have been used, this should be identified in the text of your essay, and that the reference
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list should contain all the information that another person would need to be able to find that reference for their self. I strongly recommend that students adopt the
Harvard System for referencing.
The key feature of the Harvard System is that in a reference list it places the year of publication immediately after the name of the author(s) and indicates the name of the publication by underlining or in italics. All references given in this module handbook follow this model. Under the Harvard System your reference list need to include specific information, in a certain order:
For Books: Cite the Author(s) or Editors(s) Surnames(s) followed by their initials, the Year of Publication, the Title of the book (in Italics), the Edition
(if revised or other than the first), the Place of Publication and the Publisher, for example:
Torrington D. and Hall L. (1998) Human Resource Management (4 th edition). London: Prentice Hall.
For Journals and Periodicals: Cite the Author(s) Surname(s) followed by initials, the Year of Publication, the Title of the Article, the Periodical Title
(in Italics), the Volume and Part Number (or Month of Publication) and the
Pagination, for example:
Spicer D.P. (1998) "Linking Mental Models and Cognitive Maps as an Aid to Organisational Learning." Career Development International, Vol.
3 No. 3, pp. 125-132.
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For Internet/ World Wide Web References: Cite the Author(s) Surname(s) followed by initials (if any is identified), the Year of Publication (or date stamp of site if any is given), the Title of the Site (in Italics), a full URL reference, and the date on which you access the information, for example:
Jones P. (1999) Personnel on the Internet. URL: http://www.management_information.co.uk/personnel/ (accessed on 27/03/00).
Or:
PC Magazine. URL: http//www.ziff.com/npcmag/ (accessed on
01/01/01).
The Harvard system also has conventions for referencing in text. When referring in the text of your essay to items in your reference list, the author(s) names and the date of publication should be cited, for example:
In a recent study Spicer (1998) showed…
Or:
It has been demonstrated (Torrington and Hall 1998)…
Direct quotations should be kept to a minimum (see guidance on plagiarism below), but if used these should be contained within quotation marks, and along with the author(s) names and the date of publication, the page reference of the quote should also be given:
"Effective organizational learning is critical in today's turbulent business conditions" (Spicer 1998, p. 125).
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Plagiarism
Please be aware that plagiarized or copied work will not be acceptable. All quotations used in your coursework should be accorded recognition in your reference section. Long passages of script from books or articles should not be used. Short passages should be accorded recognition of their source. University regulations state, in part:
"A dissertation, thesis, essay, project or any work which is not undertaken in an examination room under supervision but which is submitted by a student for formal assessment during his/her course of study must be written by the candidate him/herself and in his/her own words, except for quotations from published and unpublished sources which shall be clearly indicated and acknowledged as such...The incorporation of material from other works or a paraphrase of such material without acknowledgement will be treated as plagiarism subject to the custom and usage of the subject…" Work which is found to be plagiarised or copied (identical or near identical work from different students) will be investigated and be subject to disciplinary action.
The penalties for plagiarised or copied work are severe, with a minimum penalty being a mark of zero. The University, however, may wish to impose a more severe penalty.
Standard Expected
An indication of the standard expected for this coursework, is provided below.
This is provided for guidance only and should not be seen as a definitive descriptor. str. 11
