Monday 26 September 2011
Write a report on leadership development in your chosen organisation
Should be 2500 words Guidelines for Assignment 2 For assignment 2, you are required to write a report on leadership development in your chosen organisation. This assignment is based on Modules 2 and 3. It also relates to module 1. You should: 1. Choose an organisation that you are familiar with. Provide some background information about your chosen organisation. Some of this material can also be placed in an appendix. 2. Conduct a critical analysis of managerial leadership development in this organisation. The main focus of your report should be on: a. Process (Module 3) b. Contextual aspects (Module 3) c. Content issues to some extent (Module 2) 3. Draft a strategy and plan of action for improving leadership capabilities of this organisation. What are the potential challenges in operationalising the strategy and action plan? For this assignment you need to identify the processes (e.g., developmental relationships, job assignments, formal coaching, hardships used for developing leaders and the context in which leader development takes place (Velsor, McCauley & Ruderman 2010). Please note the distinction between leader development and leadership development (see Van Velsor, McCauley & Ruderman 2010 Introduction pp 1-26). What do you think of the current processes for developing leaders in your chosen organisation? To what extent are the processes effective? Given the context of your chosen organisation (e.g., some organisations may be downsizing, restructuring or expanding overseas), what sort of competencies would leaders need to have to be effective (Module 2)? Finally, you need to develop a strategy and plan of action to improve leadership capabilities at the organisational level (leadership development). Discuss the potential issues associated with the implementation of the strategy and plan of action. What would be your recommendation? Bear in mind that your report should be based on an appropriate blend of theory/literature and your own critical analyses that prove mastery of the relevant content of this course in a theoretical and practical sense. Report Writing The following link provides additional information on report writing: http://www.usq.edu.au/learningcentre/alsonline/default.htm Under Academic writing, click on Report writing. This will take you to http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/index.html The information is shown below: In business, the information provided in reports needs to be, easy to find, and written in such a way that the client can understand it. This is one reason why reports are divided into sections clearly labelled with headings and sub-headings. Technical information which would clutter the body of the report is placed in the appendix. The structure of a report and the purpose and contents of each section are shown below. TITLE PAGE • report title • your name • submission date EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • overview of subject matter • methods of analysis • findings • recommendations TABLE OF CONTENTS • list of numbered sections in report and their page numbers INTRODUCTION • terms of reference • outline of report’s structure BODY • headings and sub-headings which reflect the contents of each section. Includes information on method of data collection (if applicable), the findings of the report and discussion of findings in light of theory CONCLUSION • states the major inferences that can be drawn from the discussion • makes recommendations REFERENCE LIST • list of reference material consulted during research for report APPENDIX • information that supports your analysis but is not essential to its explanation The above information is available at http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/4b.html Introduction The introduction presents: • the background to the issue (i.e. why was the report commissioned) • the objective or purpose of the report • a definition of the research problem/topic • a definition of the report’s terms of reference (the what, where, and when of the research problem/ topic) • an outline of the report’s structure • an overview of the report’s sections and their relationship to the research problem • an outline and justification of the scope of the report (the boundaries the report is working within) • a description of the range of sources used (i.e. personal investigation, interviews, statistics and questionnaires) • acknowledgment of any valuable assistance received in the preparation of the report While there will be some duplication in the contents of the executive summary and the introduction, the purpose of the executive summary is to provide a summary of the findings of each section of the report. The purpose of the introduction, however, is to outline what the report will cover and how these issues address the research problem. The above information is available at http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/4biv.html Body of report The body section expands and develops the material in a logical and coherent manner, reflecting the structure outlined in the Introduction. It contains a description of the findings and a discussion of them. It should also relate the findings to any theory of relevance. The following questions are examples of some of the types of questions the body of your report should seek to answer: • What were the most significant findings or factors involved in the topic/ problem? • Did the findings support the theory? • Have you found some disagreement with the theory? • Did you uncover any unexpected or new issues that need to be considered? This section is usually the longest part of the report. The material must be presented logically. The type of headings you use to organise the information in the body of your report will depend on the purpose of the report you are preparing. Make sure the headings and sub-headings you choose are informative. For this assignment, the following general structure is recommended: Type 1: Findings/ Discussion Sub-heading 1 Statement of issue 1 Findings discussion of whether it supports or contrasts with theory discussion of significance to theory/ practice Sub-heading 2 Statement of issue 2 Findings discussion of whether it supports or contrasts with theory discussion of significance to theory/ practice If your report requires any collection or analysis of data, it would generally contain a method section in the body of the report briefly describing how the data was collected: literature search, web pages, interviews (details of the questions and the subject pool), financial and other business reports, etc. Details of types of calculations or analysis undertaken would also be detailed. The body of a report will also probably contain supporting evidence such as tables, graphs or figures. Only include those that are essential for reader understanding, the rest can be placed in an appendix that is referred to in the text; for example: Appendix C contains the YoY predicted growth in shareholder accounts for the company. The above information is available at http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/4biii.html Conclusion The conclusion summarises the major inferences that can be drawn from the information presented in the report. It answers the questions raised by the original research problem or stated purpose of the report (Blake & Bly, 1993) and states the conclusions reached. Finally, the conclusion of your report should also attempt to show ‘what it all means’: the significance of the findings reported and their impact (Weaver & Weaver, 1977). The conclusion/s presented in a report must be related to, resulting from and justified by the material which appears in the report. The conclusion must not introduce any new material. It should report on all the conclusions that the evidence dictates as it is NOT the job of a conclusion to “gloss over conclusions that are puzzling, unpleasant, incomplete or don’t seem to fit into your scheme” (Weaver & Weaver, 1977: 98). Doing this would indicate writer bias and mean your conclusion may mislead the reader. In the workplace, conclusions are quite often read by managers before the main text of the report and hence, should summarise the main points clearly. This section also may include: • reference to original aim(s) and objective(s) of report • application(s) of results • limitations and advantages of the findings • objective opinion, evaluation or judgement of the evidence Quite often the present tense is used in the conclusion; for example, “The healthy lifestyles concept analysed in this report is a good candidate for next phase of the marketing campaign for Choice chocolate”. The conclusions may be ordered in several ways (Weaver & Weaver, 1977). The main conclusion may be stated first and then any other conclusions in decreasing order of importance. Alternatively, it may be better to organise the conclusions in the same order as the body section was organised. Another strategy would be to present the positive conclusions together and then the negative conclusions. The organisational strategy you use may vary; the important thing is that the organisation of your conclusion is logical. The conclusion must arise from the evidence discussed in the body of the report. It should not, therefore, subjectively tell the reader what to do (Blicq, 1992; Weaver & Weaver, 1977): this job is performed by the recommendations section. (Note: Sometimes the conclusion and recommendations can be presented together in one section but they should be presented in separately labelled subsections). The above information is available at http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/4bv.html What should be placed in the Appendix? Information that is not essential to explain your findings, but that supports your analysis (especially repetitive or lengthy information), validates your conclusions or pursues a related point should be placed in an appendix (plural appendices). Sometimes excerpts from this supporting information (i.e. part of the data set) will be placed in the body of the report but the complete set of information ( i.e. all of the data set) will be included in the appendix. Examples of information that could be included in an appendix include figures/tables/charts/graphs of results, statistics, questionnaires, transcripts of interviews, pictures, lengthy derivations of equations, maps, drawings, letters, specification or data sheets, computer program information. There is no limit to what can be placed in the appendix providing it is relevant and reference is made to it in the report. The appendix is not a catch net for all the semi-interesting or related information you have gathered through your research for your report: the information included in the appendix must bear directly relate to the research problem or the report's purpose. It must be a useful tool for the reader (Weaver & Weaver, 1977). Each separate appendix should be lettered (Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix B1, Appendix B2, Appendix C, etc). The order they are presented in is dictated by the order they are mentioned in the text of the report. It is essential to refer to each appendix within the text of the report; for example, For the manufacturer's specification, see Appendix B or Appendix C contains the YoY shareholder account growth rates. The rates are high. The increasing growth rate of accounts will significantly affect the valuation of the company. The above information is available at http://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/1i.html How do I address the issue of critical analysis in my essay? Here are a few thoughts on critical analysis. The assignment questions require you to critically discuss specific issues. To critically discuss means to ‘investigate or examine by argument; sift and debate, giving reasons for and against and justify (show adequate grounds for decisions or conclusions)’. How do you do this in an assignment such as in this course? I suggest you start each argument with your ‘stance’. In order to develop a sound argument you need to back up your stance with an example(s) and evidence (in the form of relevant research literature). You need to do this for every sub-theme in the assignment. Each of your answers may contain more than one argument, but developing your arguments in the way outlined above will greatly enhance your arguments. The key issue is to justify ‘why you say what you say’. Your assignment should be based on an appropriate blend of theory/literature and your own critical analyses that prove your mastery of the relevant content of this course in a theoretical and practical sense. Assignment checklist: 1. Use Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1 inch margin, left, right, top and bottom, 1.5 line spacing, and insert page numbers at the bottom of each page. 2. You should use a minimum of 10 references. A list of references should be provided at the end of the assignment. The list should include all the sources that you have cited in your assignment. 3. Use the Harvard referencing style: http://www.usq.edu.au/library/help/referencing/harvard.htm 4. In-text references should be provided within the body of the assignment. Include page numbers for direct quotations only. 5. Your assignment should not exceed 2500 words (+/- 10%). 6. Print the word count on the cover page or title page of your assignment. Word count excludes the table of contents, reference list, appendices. 7. Make use of appendices to provide any supporting information (these will not form part of the word count). Please note that the maximum file size you can upload is 2 MB. 8. Before submitting your assignment through EASE, check your work for plagiarism by submitting a copy of your assignment through Turn-it-in. You can find this link on the course home page in assignment 2 discussion forum. If you are submitting near the due date allow for up to 24 hour turn-a-round time. 9. Before submitting your assignment through EASE, check for typographical and grammatical errors. No hard copy assignments will be accepted and only assignments submitted through EASE system will be marked. 10. You do not need to attach the marking criteria sheet to your submission. The marking criteria sheet will be completed and attached to your marked assignment by the marker. 11. You do not need a USQ cover page for your assignment, however it is accepted practice to have a title page for your assignment which you can create yourself. 12. Please make sure you put your last name, initials, student number and your email address (where I can email you should I need to contact you during the marking process) on the title page 13. The assignment will be assessed against the marking criteria sheet. Please review the marking criteria in preparing your assignment. There are three main criteria: analytical reasoning, comprehensiveness (40%), extent of research (40%), and presentation, written expression, referencing (20%). Submission guidelines: Please make sure you follow the following steps in submitting your assignment online through USQ EASE: Step 1: Before you submit your assignment, save your assignment file (in Word) on your computer with the following name: Last name, Initials, student number (this is essential!). Please note that the maximum file size you can upload is 2 MB. Step 2: On the top right hand side of the StudyDesk for MGT8038 webpage, there is a heading ‘EASE assignments’. Click on the button ‘Ease student help’ to familiarise yourself with the exact process of online submission. Step 3: Then click on ‘Submit assignment’ to submit your assignment. PLEASE NOTE: No assignments will be accepted or marked that have not been submitted through USQ EASE. Therefore ALL assignments will be processed through the EASE system. Once your assignment has been marked, I will upload your marked assignment with relevant feedback on USQ EASE. As noted earlier, you do not need a USQ cover page for your assignment, however it is accepted practice to have a title page for your assignment. Please make sure you put your last name, initials, student number and your email address (where I can email you should I need to contact you during the marking process) on the title page.
