Master of Business Administration (MBA) BUS5006 Organisational Behaviour - 2024S1M            

Assessment Overview

There are three assessments in this unit. This section provides a brief summary of these assessments.

Important Note: To pass the unit, students are expected to achieve at least 40% in the Hurdle tasks and an overall mark of 50%.

Summary of assessments

Assessment 1: Tutorial activities and/or Online discussion forums

The purpose of the discussion board is to frame and promote collaborative learning. Active and regular participation is not only important from the lecturer’s point of view but is also important for you in learning the course content and in developing your thoughts and position on various topics.

Assessment 2: Case Study report (1500 words)

Students will analyse the provided case study, identify theoretical models and concepts to describe and explain questionable behaviours and recommend possible interventions taking into consideration ethical and practical factors in their determinations.

Assessment 3: Group Theoretical Report (2000 words)

Students will form groups (3-4). After identifying any two (relevant) leadership and change management theories, the group will apply the two theories to a specific business example (as chosen by the group). The theories will inform - 1. An analysis of the business’ commitment and contribution to environment sustainability and CSR, 2. Clear recommendations on how the business could improve its sustainability and CSR practices in the immediate to long-term perspectives. using concepts and theories covered in this unit. A complete detail for each assessment is provided in the next sections.

Academic misconduct

VIT enforces that the integrity of its students’ academic studies follows an acceptable level of excellence. VIT will adhere to its VIT Policies, Procedures and Forms where it explains the importance of staff and student honesty in relation to academic work. It outlines the kinds of behaviors that are “academic misconduct”, including plagiarism.

Late submissions

In cases where there are no accepted mitigating circumstances as determined through VIT Policies, Procedures and Forms, late submission of assessments will lead automatically to the imposition of a penalty. Penalties will be applied as soon as the deadline is reached.

Short extensions and special consideration

Special Consideration is a request for:

    Extensions of the due date for an assessment, other than an examination (e.g. assignment extension).

    Special Consideration (Special Consideration in relation to a Completed assessment, including an end-of-unit Examination).

Students wishing to request Special Consideration in relation to an assessment the due date of which has not yet passed must engage in written emails to the teaching team to Request for Special Consideration as early as possible and prior to start time of the assessment due date, along with any accompanying documents, such as medical certificates. For more information, visit VIT Policies, Procedures and Forms.

Inclusive and equitable assessment

Reasonable adjustment in assessment methods will be made to accommodate students with a documented disability or impairment. Contact the unit teaching team for more information.

Contract cheating.

Contract cheating usually involves the purchase of an assignment or piece of research from another party. This may be facilitated by a fellow student, friend or purchased on a website. Other forms of contract cheating include paying another person to sit an exam in the student’s place.

Contract cheating warning:

    By paying someone else to complete your academic work, you don’t learn as much as you could

have if you did the work yourself.

    You are not prepared for the demands of your future employment.

    You could be found guilty of academic misconduct.

    Many of for pay contract cheating companies recycle assignments despite guarantees of

“original, plagiarism- free work” so similarity is easily detected by Turnitin.

    Penalties for academic misconduct include suspension and exclusion.

    Students in some disciplines are required to disclose any findings of guilt for academic misconduct before being accepted into certain professions (e.g. law).

    You might disclose your personal and financial information in an unsafe way, leaving yourself open to many risks including possible identity theft.

    You also leave yourself open to blackmail - if you pay someone else to do an assignment for you, they know you have engaged in fraudulent behavior and can always blackmail you.

Assessment 1: Tutorial activities and/or Online discussion forums 20%

The purpose of the discussion board is to frame and promote collaborative learning. Active and regular participation is not only important from the lecturer’s point of view but is also important for you in learning the course content and in developing your thoughts and position on various topics.

General Guidelines

1. In this class, online discussion will count towards your overall grade for the course. The purpose of the discussion board is to frame and promote collaborative learning. Active and regular participation is not only important from the lecturer’s point of view but is also important for you in learning the course content and in developing your thoughts and position on various topics.
2. You are expected to participate in at least 3 different forums. You should begin at least one thread and provide at least three posts in response to other participants’ threads. Posting should be a minimum of one short paragraph and a maximum of two paragraphs. Word totals for each post should be in the 200-300 words range.
3. During the discussion, when you agree or disagree explain why with supporting evidence and concepts from the readings or a related experience. Include a reference, link, or citation when appropriate.
4. During the discussion, be organised in your thoughts and ideas. Incorporate correlations with the assigned readings or topics. Stay on topic. Provide evidence of critical thinking in your responses or interactions. Avoid summarizing.
5. During the discussion, contribute to the learning community by being creative in your approaches to topics, being relevant in the presented viewpoints, and attempting to motivate the discussion.
6. During discussion, be aware of grammar and sentence mechanics. Use proper etiquette.
7. Remember that being respectful is critical at all times in the classroom, online and during forum chat discussions.

The assessor will assess you on the following:

Discussion and Participation:

1. Is made in a timely fashion, giving others an opportunity to respond.
   1. Is thoughtful with appropriate analysis of the content or question asked.
   2. Poses new possibilities or opinions not previously voiced.
   3. Ideas are expressed clearly, concisely with appropriate use of vocabulary and attention to spelling and grammar.
   4. Spends the time constructing creative, challenging and engaging discussion assignments, which promote participation.

Marking Criteria: Assessment 1: Tutorial activities and/or Online discussion forums (Weightage 20%)

This assignment will be marked based on the following criteria.

Assessment 2: Case Study report (1500 words) 40%

Students will analyse the “Pride-Building at Aramark” case study, identify theoretical models and concepts to describe and explain questionable behaviours and recommend possible interventions taking into consideration ethical and practical factors in their determinations.

The Case Study: Pride-Building at Aramark

Source: Griffin, R.W., Phillips, J.M., Gully, S. M. (2020), Organisational Behavior Managing People and People. 13th Ed. Cengage Learning.

Aramark, a leader in professional services headquartered in Philadelphia, has approximately 270,000 employees serving clients in twenty-two countries.51 Aramark wanted to better motivate its employees who clean airplanes for Delta and Southwest Airlines. Turnover of the low-paid staff of largely immigrant employees once exceeded 100 percent a year. Morale was low, and wallets and other valuable items that passengers left on planes had a tendency to disappear.

To turn things around, Aramark manager Roy Pelaez believed that he had to break some rules to get employees to feel motivated. "Managers are not supposed to get involved with the personal problems of their employees, but I take the opposite view," he says. "Any problem that affects the employee will eventually affect your account. If you take care of the employees, they will take care of you and your customer." Besides the typical "Employee of the Month" recognition programs, he brought in an English-language teacher to tutor employees twice a week on their own time, added Friday citizenship classes to help employees become U.S. citizens, and arranged for certified babysitters subsidized by government programs to keep single mothers showing up for work. He even created a small computer lab with three used computers so that employees could train each other in word processing and spreadsheets. "All of these things are important, because we want employees who really feel connected to the company," says Pelaez.

Employees who had perfect attendance over a six-month period or who turned in a wallet or pocketbook filled with cash and credit cards were rewarded with a day off with pay. Workers in the "Top Crew of the Month" were rewarded with movie passes, telephone calling cards, or "burger bucks." Turnover fell to 12 percent per year—amazing for jobs that pay only minimum wage to start. And crews started to recover large amounts of money from the airplanes, returning to passengers some 250 lost wallets with more than $50,000 in cash.52

In five years, Pelaez’s efforts helped to increase Aramark’s revenue in this area from $5 million to $14 million.53 Since 1998, programs such as these have helped Aramark consistently rank as one of the top three most admired companies in its industry in Fortune magazine's list of "America’s Most Admired Companies. "54

YOUR TASK

Analyse the behavioural characteristics of Aramark, a leader in professional services headquartered in Philadelphia. Identify the theoretical models and concepts of OB related to the below Questions:

Case Questions

1. What motivation theories apply to the workers at Aramark?
2. If you were the manager of these employees, what would you do to motivate them? Be honest regarding your personal management style and beliefs rather than trying to be like Roy Pelaez.
3. What are some possible barriers to the effectiveness of your motivation ideas? What could you do to overcome them?

Guidelines

Students will Individually analyse the Pride-Building at Aramark case study. This assignment requires that you write a 1,500-word individual report. This will involve critically assessing the issues presented in the case alongside theory/literature and making recommendations for improvements.

    In your report you need to address all the issues in the case study.

    Your discussion should be supported by citations from the current Organisational Behaviour literature. You are required to use 12-15 peer-review academic journal articles.

Your report should include the sections outlined in the exact order:

    Executive Summary: is an overall summary of the entire report. It should:

• Introduce the topic of your report,
• Indicate the main subjects (major findings) examined in the discussion section of your report,
• State your conclusions,
• State your recommendations,
• (No page number)

    Table of contents: This is an ordered list of the different sections and subsections of your report. It must include numbered section headings and subheadings, with their relevant pages. This indicates to your reader where various sections of your discussion can be found. Note: Table of contents should also be on a separate page. (No page number)

    Introduction: (The numbering of the pages starts here)

The introduction should generally include three key types of information.

• Background: This section sets the context for the report and provides the (brief) background information required for the reader to understand the report. For example, it may briefly outline the issue faced by the organisation. Tell the reader something about the history / origin of the report. When was it requested? Why is it important? Who was involved and how?
• Aims / objectives: This tells the reader what the aims / objectives of the report are. It indicates what key questions the report is trying to answer and what it is trying to achieve. Why was it written?
• Scope: Tell the reader exactly what areas / ideas are covered in the report. This also helps to explain how the report is organised. Look at your plan and consider your headings and sub-headings.

    Discussion and analysis: This section is where information relevant to the topic is presented. It must be fully referenced throughout, using various resources to support ideas. It should be

organised logically, using topic headings, subheadings and minor subheadings to break it into sections and sub-sections based on the ideas being discussed. All headings must be numbered

sequentially. The length of a discussion is approximately 60% of the total word count.

    Conclusion: The purpose of the conclusion is to provide a summary of the major findings. It effectively attempts to answer the key questions posed in the introduction. When writing a conclusion, it may be useful to consider the following:

• No new information should be introduced,
• What has been learnt or proved from doing this research?
• On the basis of the research, what conclusions can be drawn?
• Consider the key questions and objectives set out in the introduction - what are the answers / conclusions you came to?
• Consider each of the key sections of your report - what was the main point made in each section?

    Recommendations: Often when writing a report specific recommendations for future actions are

requested. These can be included as a separate section after the conclusion or even as a part of the conclusion (using a sub-heading).

• Recommendations should state what actions should be implemented based on the findings of the report. You may list these in bullet points or small paragraphs.

    Reference List: This list includes the full publication details of all books, articles, Web sites and other sources referred to in the report. Only cited articles should be included in your reference

list and should be in alphabetical order.

• The referencing styles at VIT: APA styles.

Marking Criteria: Case Study report (1500 words) (Weightage 40%)

This assignment will be marked based on the following criteria.

Assessment 3: Group Theoretical Report (2000 words)

This is a group assignment where students are required to form groups of 3-4 members.

Students are required to analyse and explain, in report format, with reference to a specific business example (as chosen by the group). how the following theories would be applied:

• Leadership and change management,
• Decision Making

Your Task:

Based on the above concepts, you need to apply two theories to a specific business example (as chosen by the group). The theories will inform: –

1. An analysis of the business’ commitment and contribution to environment sustainability and

   CSR,

2. Clear recommendations on how the business could improve its sustainability and CSR practices in the immediate to long-term perspectives.

Structure

    In your report you need to address all the issues in the case study.

    Your discussion should be supported by citations from the current Organisational Behaviour literature. You are required to use 12-15 peer-review academic journal articles.

Your report should include the sections outlined in the exact order:

    Executive Summary: is an overall summary of the entire report. It should:

• Introduce the topic of your report,
• Indicate the main subjects (major findings) examined in the discussion section of your report,
• State your conclusions,
• State your recommendations,
• (No page number)

    Table of contents: This is an ordered list of the different sections and subsections of your report. It must include numbered section headings and subheadings, with their relevant pages. This indicates to your reader where various sections of your discussion can be found. Note: Table of contents should also be on a separate page. (No page number)

    Introduction: (The numbering of the pages starts here)

The introduction should generally include three key types of information.

• Background: This section sets the context for the report and provides the (brief) background information required for the reader to understand the report. For example, it may briefly outline the issue faced by the organisation. Tell the reader something about the history / origin of the report. When was it requested? Why is it important? Who was involved and how?
• Aims / objectives: This tells the reader what the aims / objectives of the report are. It

indicates what key questions the report is trying to answer and what it is trying to achieve. Why was it written?

• Scope: Tell the reader exactly what areas / ideas are covered in the report. This also

helps to explain how the report is organised. Look at your plan and consider your headings and sub-headings.

    Discussion and analysis: This section is where information relevant to the topic is presented. It must be fully referenced throughout, using various resources to support ideas. It should be

organised logically, using topic headings, subheadings and minor subheadings to break it into sections and sub-sections based on the ideas being discussed. All headings must be numbered sequentially. The length of a discussion is approximately 60% of the total word count.

    Conclusion: The purpose of the conclusion is to provide a summary of the major findings. It

effectively attempts to answer the key questions posed in the introduction. When writing a conclusion, it may be useful to consider the following:

• No new information should be introduced,
• What has been learnt or proved from doing this research?
• On the basis of the research, what conclusions can be drawn?
• Consider the key questions and objectives set out in the introduction - what are the answers / conclusions you came to?
• Consider each of the key sections of your report - what was the main point made in each section?

    Recommendations: Often when writing a report specific recommendations for future actions are requested. These can be included as a separate section after the conclusion or even as a part of

the conclusion (using a sub-heading).

• Recommendations should state what actions should be implemented based on the findings of the report. You may list these in bullet points or small paragraphs.

    Reference List: This list includes the full publication details of all books, articles, Web sites and

other sources referred to in the report. Only cited articles should be included in your reference list and should be in alphabetical order.

• The referencing styles at VIT: APA styles.

Additional Guidelines

    Conduct research on leadership and organisational behaviour theories, concepts, and best practices relevant to the case.

    Propose practical solutions and recommendations supported by evidence from the case and relevant leadership and organisational behaviour literature.

    Ensure clarity and conciseness in your writing. Present your ideas logically and coherently.

    Format your assignment professionally, following academic writing standards. Use clear headings, subheadings, and appropriate citation style.

    Seek feedback from the lecturer, tutor, or peers to refine your leadership and management plan before submission.

Marking Criteria: Assessment 3: Group Theoretical Report (2000 words) (Weightage 40%)

This assignment will be marked based on the following criteria.

            BUS5006 Organisational Behaviour