Duration: 1 hour plus 5 minutes reading time

Format: Closed book test

Due: Scheduled at the start of class for session 6 (week commencing 12 February 2018)

The in-class test, held under exam conditions during the class session, will include the material covered in sessions 1–5. Students will attempt 20 multiple-choice questions and 2 short-answer questions. Books, notes, non-programmable calculator, notebook computers, iPads, tablets, PDAs and similar are not allowed.

Length: 2000 words max per individual member of the group

Due: In both hard copy and soft copy by the end of session 10 of class.

Assignment rationale

You will be a member of a syndicate group that undertakes an assignment as team. You will collectively select an organisation bearing in mind a critical OB issue(s) affecting the performance of this organisation i.e. its effectiveness or efficiency. The issue may be something positive in or outside the organisation, or else it maybe something negative. Your job as individuals and as a team is to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the issue(s) utilising knowledge and skills developed from MGSM870 i.e. by applying topics from the unit.

The purpose of the assignment is to enable you to:

• undertake independent research
• apply topics from the unit
• communicate the findings of a formal piece of work and enhance written communication skills

Each individual member within their allocated group must contribute a maximum of 2000 words to the group report. Each member of their group must clearly identify which element of the group assignment is their individual contribution by putting their names in brackets next to your section heading. Assessment of individual performance within this group assessment will be based on the identified individual contributions, and will constitute half of the total assessment weighting for this assessment (subject to the final decision of the lecturer).

Assessment criteria

• ability to interpret and analyse the organisation’s situation
• ability to apply unit knowledge (i.e. theories, models, concepts, etc.) to analyse the company
• thoroughness of research undertaken, extent of reading, collection of relevant data, etc.
• ability to logically arrange and present the materials
• full acknowledgment of sources consulted, references used etc. including the bibliography
• written presentation to an acceptable postgraduate standard

Guide to the assignment

This assessment task is to gauge how well you can apply 4-5 relevant topics/concepts from the unit to a ‘real-life’ organisation. What you need to do early on is to select an organisation - either domestic or international - for detailed analysis. The organisation may be of any size and it is likely that data availability will vary with size and international recognition.

What I am trying to get at in this task is how well you understand the ideas presented in this unit and how well you can articulate this knowledge by applying it to an actual situation. The emphasis is on understanding, rather than presentation. You are not describing, but analysing situations/behaviour. Assignments that are excessively descriptive or make excessive use of point-form, will not achieve a very high grade. Basic issues to be addressed MIGHT include (in no particular order):

• Brief overview of the organisation
• Are employees satisfied and/or motivated? WHY/WHY NOT? 
• Is the organisation well led? WHY/WHY NOT?
• Does the organisation demonstrate effective communication? HOW does/ doesn’t it demonstrate this? 
• Is the organisation’s structure conducive to learning and sharing? 
• Who has power in the organisation and is it effectively used? HOW/WHY?
• Is the organisation structured for success?
• Is the organisation’s culture conducive to it being a “great place to work”? HOW/WHY? What role do leaders play in organisational culture? Is the culture strong or weak? HOW/WHY?
• How has the organisation dealt with change? Why did/does it need to change and how has/will this been managed? 

Not all of these issues will be relevant for every organisation. Notice that I emphasise HOW & WHY issues because if you do this, then you will be analytical, rather than descriptive. Students are required to use their initiative in what issue they address, and what issues they ignore.

Submission details

Groups are to submit 1 x soft-copy and 1 x hard-copy of their group report on the due date as listed in the box above. The soft-copy submission will be submitted to Turnitin via the MGSM iLearn portal (only one member of each group needs to do this), a program used to ensure the originality of the work undertaken by the submitter. The hard-copy submission will be used for marking purposes by the lecturer. The hard-copy submission should be single sided and stapled at the top left-hand corner only.

Formatting instructions 

The assignment should be in 12pt font size with 1.5 or double spacing. Each page of the assignment should have at least 3cm margins from the left and right edges and top and bottom of the page. The actual word length of the document, not including references or executive summary should be clearly stated on the title page of the assignment. The group assignment should have the ‘MGSM group assignment cover sheet’ at the start of the paper. 

The assignment should have the following structure:

1. For the hard copy version only, an MGSM cover page with all group members names, student numbers, and signatures are required and needs to be attached to the very front of the assignment. The MGSM cover page will be made available on the class iLearn page. Please do not put this MGSM cover page on the soft copy version of the group project.
2. A title page with all student names and student numbers, word count of the text.
3. A one page (single-spaced) executive summary that outlines the assignment’s structure, the organisations studied (as appropriate), the key issues according to the group, how the group has demonstrated analysis, what the group has found, and recommendations, lessons, insights as appropriate.
4. Body of the assignment with appropriate headings and citations.
5. Reference list.
6. Appendices as appropriate.

Extensions and penalties

No extensions will be granted. There will be a deduction of 10% of the total available marks made from the total awarded mark for each 24 hour period or part thereof that the submission is late (for example, 25 hours late in submission – 20% penalty). This penalty does not apply for cases in which an application for disruption of studies is made and approved. No submission will be accepted after solutions have been posted.

Duration: 3 hours plus 10 minutes reading time

Format: Open book final examination

Date: MGSM Term 1 exam week: 19-24 March 2018

You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the MGSM examination timetable. The timetable will be available on 30 January 2018 at https://students.mgsm.edu.au/sydney-students/units/exams/

The final examination will be open book and concern all content from unit materials, as well as exercise and group discussions. The specific format of the exam will be explained in the last class of the term. You can use books, notes and a non-programmable calculator. Notebook computers, iPads, tablets, PDAs and similar are not allowed.