Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2019 1

C O U R S E C O M M . 2 9 2

‘MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR’

TEAM PROJECT GUIDE AND INSTRUCTIONS

Introduction

 

The Team Project is based on the case study ‘_____________________’ the text of which is distributed

separately from this Guide and Instructions.

 

The purpose of a case study project is to help you to develop your skills in:-

 – analyzing an organizational situation;

 – identifying issues, problems and opportunities; and, where appropriate,

 – making recommendations for action and/or improvement.

In so doing, the project will enable you to combine theory and practice, by applying your course learning to a

‘real’ organization.

 

At the same time, this project is designed to help you to develop your teamwork skills, an area of skill that is

becoming increasingly important in the world of business and management, and in organizational life in general.

Your effective performance as a team member will therefore be an important part of this project, and will

count significantly towards your individualized project mark.

 

Your Task

 

Imagine you are a consultancy team, hired by company management to investigate and report on certain aspects

of organizational behaviour within this company. You are required to report to company Senior Management

Team on organizational behaviour issues.

 

Process

 

You must submit your analysis, findings and recommendations to the Senior Management Team at the company

in two separate formats, i.e.

 

 a progress report and final written management report (worth 190 marks); and

 an oral / visual in-class presentation (worth 60 marks).

The combined marks, out of 250, will then be converted to a percentage (i.e. out of 100), and this will be worth

25% of the overall grade for this course.

 

Guidance will be given in class on the required shape and format for both the report and the presentation.

 

You will be working in teams of approximately five or six students. Each team member is required to

contribute an equal share of the total work involved in the project. On this basis (but only if this happens), it is

hoped to be able to award the same mark to all the members of a team. However, if any individual student

contributes less than a reasonably equal share of the work, that student’s mark will be reduced accordingly.

 

In this connection, the project will include a form of peer evaluation, whereby each student’s contribution will

be assessed by his/her team colleagues. Please remember, therefore, that your final (individual) project mark

will be partly influenced by your effectiveness as a team member.

 

 

 

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2019 2

CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE

WRITTEN REPORTS

PART 1: PROGRESS REPORT due on ___________________________

– quantity of material…………………………. -10

– quality of material…………………………….- 10

– organization of material……………………….-5 _______

25 points

 

Email to your instructor at a.faundo@alexandercollege.ca on ____________________ using the subject:

Progress Report COMM 292 Friday or Saturday (name of group leader/point person), on letter size bond

paper, using font size 11-12 and using only either Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman fonts. One Progress

Report is to be emailed in for your team.

 

To ensure that you are on track and prepared for your deadlines, prepare a task assignment plan (who does what

and when to submit) for the instructor in your Progress Report as well as the three issues or problems identified

in the case, the causes of which and the related theories. Please follow report outline below and is approximately

1-4 pages.

 

Late submissions will be deducted 20% for each day beyond the due date. The report MUST include an emailed

report from the Writing and Learning Centre Commerce (WLC) tutor. Your instructor will not even read

your progress report without an accompanying WLC tutor report. One of your team members should be

designated to email this to your instructor in class on the date that it’s due. See course schedule for due date.

 

Last Name, First Name (all team members)

Task/Responsibilities (of each member) for

this Progress Review/Report

Task/Responsibilities (of each member) for

the final written report with due dates

Task/Responsibilities (of each member) for

the oral presentation with due dates

 

Introduction – facts about the case (who,

what, when, where)

 

 

 

Issue/problem 1 (in a statement of the

problem format)

What caused this issue/problem? (in a

sentence format)

1.

2.

3.

Related theories: Concept(s) and theory(ies)

you learned in class that you can relate to

this issue and the causes of it.

 

Issue/problem 3 (in a statement of the

problem format)

What caused this issue/problem? (in a

sentence format)

1.

2.

3.

Related theories: Concept(s) and theory(ies)

you learned in class that you can relate to

this issue and the causes of it.

 

Issue/problem 2 (in a statement of the

problem format)

What caused this issue/problem? (in a

sentence format)

1.

2.

3.

Related theories: Concept(s) and theory(ies)

you learned in class that you can relate to this

issue and the causes of it.

 

 

 

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2019 3

CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE

FINAL WRITTEN REPORT

PART 2: FINAL WRITTEN REPORT

 

Email to your instructor at a.faundo@alexandercollege.ca on ____________________ using the subject:

Final Written Report COMM 292 Friday or Saturday (name of group leader/point person), on letter size

bond paper, using font size 11-12 and using only either Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman fonts. One final

written report is to be emailed in for your team.

 

Late submissions will be deducted 20% for each day beyond the due date. The report MUST include an emailed

report from the Writing and Learning Centre Commerce (WLC) tutor. Your instructor will not even read

your progress report without an accompanying WLC tutor report. One of your team members should be

designated to email this to your instructor in class on the date that it’s due. See course schedule for due date.

 

 

– Executive Summary/Abstract………………………….. -10

– Introduction and Background ………………………… -10

 

– Identification of key points, issues, problems, etc………-20 ) within the

– Application and use of course material and other ) Main Body

academic material…………………………………………-30 ) of the

– Depth and detail of understanding demonstrated………-20 ) report

 

– Conclusions ………………………………………………-20

 

– Number, range and quality of sources consulted………-10

– Correct use of academic referencing/citation……………-10

– Quality of written English……………………………….-20

(grammar, spelling, tone, style)

– Quality of general presentation of report………………-10

(cover, layout, structure, spacing, fonts, etc.)

– Selection and use of a suitable name for your team………5 (originality, relevance for human resources management)

165 points

 

The length of the basic report should be within the range 10-12 pages, plus any appropriate appendices/addenda,

cover page, table of contents, and executive summary / abstract.

 

The report must contain the following features:

 

1. Be prepared on a computer and be submitted on single-sided standard-sized letter paper (8.5 x 11 in. (216 x 279 mm.)

 

2. Have a front cover, showing:- course title, course code, title of project, project team name and number, names of the project team members, name of instructor, and date of submission.

 

3. Use double line-spacing, and have a wide left-hand margin.

4. Have a detailed ‘Contents’ page.

5. Have individually-numbered pages.

 

 

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2019 4

 

6. Have a clear and logical structure, using headings and sub-headings where appropriate.

7. Use the A.P.A citation system for the correct academic referencing of any published works referred to, summarized, paraphrased, or quoted from. (See page 8 for more information.)

 

8. Be written in Times New Roman font style, with a font size of 12 or 11 (but you may, if you wish, use different font styles and sizes for any headings and sub-headings only.

 

 

 

USING THE CASE ANALYSIS MODEL

 

The following represent the steps that you should take in working through your case. You will not necessarily

submit the evidence from each step in your report, but the analysis done at each step will provide the necessary

foundation upon which to write your report.

 

Step 1: Inventory of Facts Brief listing of key facts (people, places, events, dates, results,

etc.) in the case.

 

Step 2: Statement of Problem(s) Concise statement of major problem(s) / issues in the case;

Problems /issues stated as things to be corrected or resolved.

Group any related problems together.

Step 3: Analysis of Causes Identification and analysis of all possible causes of the

problem(s) / issues in the case.

 

Step 4: Theory Application l Identification of all theories or models that might apply to these

problems/ issues and their causes.

 

Step 5: List of Possible Solutions Identification of possible solutions to each problem / issue as

stated; what objectives are achieved with each solution?

 

Step 6: Justification of Preferred Presentation of recommended solution(s) and justification for

Solution your choice(s). You should not present every possibility; rather

you should limit yourself to presenting the most convincing,

cohesive solution(s).

 

Step 7: Evaluation of Preferred What are the implications (positive and negative consequences

Solution of your decision(s)?

 

Step 8: Theory Application ll Which theories are most applicable in this situation? Why? Use

the theories to help you justify your choice of solution(s).

 

Step 9: Implementation How would you introduce and carry out your solution(s)?

(if required) Provide specific action plans for short- and long-term.

 

In producing your report, you must explain your findings, justify the points you make by citing supporting

evidence from the case text, and explain any assumptions that you make. Your analysis, findings and

recommendations must be related to appropriate theories, models, concepts and principles of management and

organizational behavior included in the course textbook, course hand-out notes, and any other suitable (i.e.

relevant and credible) sources.

 

 

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2019 5

 

Late submissions will be deducted 20% for each day beyond the due date. You may include charts, graphs and

diagrams that are relevant to your discussion to emphasize points in your document. This part of your project

MUST include the emailed report from the Writing and Learning Centre Commerce tutor. No report from

the WLC tutor means a 50% deduction. One of your team members should be designated to email this to your

instructor in class on the date that it’s due. Please follow report outline below. The final written paper is worth

165 marks. See course schedule for due date.

 

 

Recommended format and contents for the final written report:

Page Contents Description of Contents Remarks

1 Cover Page COMM 292 Section Management and Organizational Behaviour

Team Project for Case Title

Team name: _____________________

Team members: Last Name, First Name of all team members

 

 

2 Table of Contents Heading: Table of Contents

Contents per page with equivalent page numbers including

appendices and references

 

 

3 Executive

Summary

Heading: Executive Summary

A one-page summary of your entire paper’s contents, from

introduction all the way to your conclusion, providing specific

details of the contents.

 

 

4 Introduction Heading: Introduction (approximately 1-1.5 pages)

Refer to inventory of facts in the case analysis model

 

 

5-12 Contents Headings according to how it was recommended in your Progress

Review (please follow APA in-text citation, with running head, in-

text citations and referencing)

 

Issues

Causes

Relevant Theories

Alternative/Possible Solutions with Advantages and

Disadvantages

Preferred Solution(s) and Justifications

Relevant Theories (if applicable)

Recommendation and Implementation of your Preferred

Solution

 

Please note that you should write the report using detailed

discussions and in a report-paragraph format. Use bullet points

only if necessary. Figures, graphs and tables may be included for

as long as it makes sense in your discussion. Do not simply copy

and paste a figure, graph or table you learned from the lecture,

rather personalize it according to your how it applies to your case

discussions.

 

 

12 Conclusion Heading: Conclusion ((approximately 1-1.5 pages)

A brief summary of your issues, solutions and recommendations

 

 

 

 

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2019 6

13 References Heading: References (please follow APA referencing style)

– minimum of 3 academic references required (A MUST)

 

14+ Appendices Heading: Appendices

 Include your task assignment (who did what including % contribution to the overall work)

 Tutor reports of your visits to the Writing and Learning Centre (A MUST)

 Include any other documents that you identified as important to this report

 

 

 

 

CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE

IN-CLASS ORAL/VISUAL PRESENTATION

PART 3: IN-CLASS ORAL/VISUAL PRESENTATION scheduled on _______________________

 

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

 

Criterion Example Aspects Marks Available

Professionalism Appearance; co-ordination; impact 10

Content Quality; relevance; effectiveness 10

Structure and Sequence Appropriate organization of material into

sections and sub-sections; sequencing

of material 5

Time Management Suitable time allocations; keeping within time limit 5

Quality of Delivery Tone, clarity, confidence, volume, pace of speech;

maintaining eye contact with audience 10

Visual Aids Quality of design; value of content; appropriate use 10

Creativity The inclusion of something different/unusual/unique 10

 

Total Marks 60

 

 

Each presentation must be timed to last within the range 12 to 15 minutes.

 

Each student must take part in, and make an active and approximately equal contribution to his / her team’s

presentation. The ‘audience’ for each presentation will consist of the Course Instructor (representing the Chief

Executive Officer), and all the members of the other student project teams in the class (representing other

members of the company’s Senior Management Team).

 

A whiteboard (with marker pens) and a computer/projection facility will be available in the classroom for

students to use during their presentation.

 

Every project team is strongly encouraged to integrate the use of some visual media into their presentation, as

this will almost certainly enhance both the quality and impact of their presentations and result in a higher

mark being awarded. If you include a video, please limit it to only 1. It should be less than 2 minutes long.

Your presentation should not exceed 15 minutes. You may be cut off when you go over the time limit.

 

 

 

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2019 7

An average of 10-15 slides is suggested for your oral presentation since there is a time limit. You will decide on

what contents of written report you would like to include in your PPT slides but must include all of the major

topics as outlined above. Your goal is to share your research in a manner that will be understood and appreciated

by your audience, which includes your instructor. Do not copy and paste your written paper content to your PPT

slides. Instead, use bullet points to summarize the important points. Use pictures and graphs as necessary. Your

last slide must include your references, using APA format, including that of pictures and videos used in your

presentation.

 

Don’t read the slides. You will immediately loose marks. Talk about your topic. All group members should

present, assigning one member of the team to be in-charge of the PPT presentation. This is a business

presentation so presenters are expected to dress professionally during your scheduled presentation.

 

Every team is also encouraged to include a creative element in their presentation. Such creativity normally

enhances the impact and uniqueness of the presentation, and results in a higher mark being awarded. It is

suggested that you check the suitability of your creative ideas with your Instructor, in advance of the

presentations.

 

At the time of their presentation, each project team must submit, to the Course Instructor, a print-out of any

visual aids used in their presentation, so that it can be referred to by the Instructor when the presentation is

subsequently being assessed, 2 slides per page, black and white copy.

 

Any team requiring assistance with the preparation and / or setting up of their presentation should notify the

Course Instructor of their needs by e-mail or in person as soon as possible and, in any event, not later than

________________.

 

ACADEMIC REFERENCING, AVOIDING PLAGIARISM,

AND LEGITIMATE SOURCES OF HELP

General Points

Normal academic rules about using, quoting, summarizing, or referring to published work, and avoiding

plagiarism, will apply. All material taken from other sources that you use in any of these ways must be correctly

referenced in accordance with one of the following officially recognized and accepted systems:-

The A.P.A. (American Psychological Association) style

Guidance for using this particular systems is available through attending an A.PA. Citation Workshop run by the

Alexander College Writing and Learning Centre. Guidance is also available at Purdue University’s On-Line

Writing Lab at:-

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

and from the Alexander College Librarians and the tutors of the College’s Writing and Learning Centre.

Referencing of Class Notes

 

You may wish to quote from, summarize, or refer to material taken from the following sources:-

 

A class hand-out note, in which the original source of the material is cited.

A class hand-out note with no specific reference shown.

Notes that you yourself wrote from a lecture you attended.

 

 

 

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2019 8

It is, of course, totally acceptable to do this, and you are encouraged to do so. However, even these sources should

also be properly cited, and there are correct ways of doing it.

 

Further Help

 

For further help with this aspect of your work, and with other aspects of the Team Project, you should consult only

the following:- your Course Instructor, staff of the College’s Student Writing and Learning Centre, and the

College Librarians. AS A REQUIREMENT OF THIS PROJECT, EACH TEAM MUST FULFIL AT

LEAST ONE COMPLETE APPOINTMENT AT THE WRITING AND LEARNING CENTRE.

 

If you wish to obtain help from anyone other than the above, you must obtain approval in advance from your

Course Instructor. IF IT IS FOUND THAT A TEAM, OR ANY MEMBER(S) OF A TEAM, OBTAINED

HELP FROM AN EXTERNAL SOURCE WITHOUT SUCH PRIOR APPROVAL, THAT TEAM IS

LIKELY TO BE AWARDED A MARK OF ‘ZERO’ FOR THE PROJECT.

 

 

Important Warning

 

Please note that the use of other people’s work/material without proper referencing constitutes plagiarism; this is

a serious academic offence which in, accordance with College policy, is likely to result in a mark of ‘zero’ and

possible additional penalties.

 

TEAM PROJECT – PEER EVALUATION FORM

TEAM NUMBER _______ LEADER’S NAME_________________________

 

Please indicate below whether, in your opinion, equal or differing marks should be awarded to the members of

your team in respect of the team project. You may decide that each member deserves an equal share of the

mark, in which case each team member would receive a peer evaluation of “1.00.” Alternatively, you might

feel that some members of the team deserve less than 1.00, while others deserve more than 1.00. Whatever

marks you are recommending, the sum of the evaluations for all members on your form must be equal to the

total number of members in your team. Please ensure that you include a rating for yourself, as part of this

process.

 

Names of Team Members Your Recommended Initialed by Person

(alphabetical order of surname) Proportion of the Mark Being Evaluated

 

___________________________ _______ __________

 

___________________________ _______ __________

 

___________________________ _______ __________

 

___________________________ _______ __________

 

___________________________ _______ __________

 

___________________________ _______ __________

 

If you have awarded a peer evaluation of less than 0.90 to any member(s) of your team, please briefly explain,

below, their behaviour(s) that caused you to do this:-

 

___________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2019 9

Peer Evaluation Criteria

 

In deciding the peer evaluation marks you wish to award to the members of your team, it is suggested that you

use the following performance criteria as a guide:-

 

Participation

– attends team meetings; takes part in discussions and decision-making.

Emotional Support

– helps to support, maintain and enhance team spirit and morale.

Collaboration

– co-operates fully and effectively with other team members; shows flexibility and a and adaptability; helps to make it possible for all team members to make a fair contribution.

 

Communication – communicates clearly and effectively with other team members; provides timely and constructive criticism and feedback; responds promptly to communication from other team members.

 

Attitude

– shows enthusiasm for the project; has a positive approach to the work; is able to give and receive criticism in a constructive manner.

 

Organization

– is effective in planning his/her own work, prioritizing tasks and managing time; shares information and ideas in a logical and coherent manner.

 

Role Fulfillment – meets all deadlines; delivers high-quality work on, or ahead of, time; meets all assigned responsibilities.

Notes:-

 Your peer evaluation should take into account all the work undertaken in the preparation and production of your team’s written report, and in preparing and delivering your team’s in-class presentation.

 Your Instructor will be responsible for determining each individual’s final mark for the project, and will be the final arbiter in case of any disagreement.

 Your completed peer evaluation form must be handed in to your Instructor, together with those of your team colleagues, by the start of the final class session on _____________________

 Failure to hand in your completed peer evaluation form on time will result in a penalty in the form of a deduction from your individual project score of five percentage points; don’t let this happen to you!

 

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK

 

The success of any team depends on the commitment and effective contributions of all its members. This

principle applies to all forms of team activity in all types of context, whether it be in business, sport, adventure,

education, charity, community, entertainment, and even emergency and disaster relief.

 

Working in a team gives you an opportunity to make a worthwhile and satisfying contribution to something

bigger than you could hope to achieve on your own. It also gives you an opportunity to learn from other people

– your team colleagues – as you work together on your task.

 

 

 

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2019 10

While working on this Team Project, please keep the following important points in mind:

 

1. Remember at all times that this is a team project. Throughout the project, you are required to work as an effective member of your team. This means that you must make an equal contribution to the operation

and output of your team. The final page of this Briefing Document (the back of the peer evaluation form)

outlines some of the specific ways in which you can contribute.

 

2. Only work that represents the efforts of your team as a whole will be accepted for assessment. Any student(s) who disengage(s) from their team and attempt(s) to submit a separate piece of work will

automatically receive a mark of ‘zero’ for the project.

 

3. All the members of each team will be held accountable both individually and collectively for the work they submit for assessment. For instance, if any part of the project is plagiarized, all the members of that

team will receive a mark of ‘zero.’

 

4. It is not teamwork to just divide the project between you, with each member producing a part, and then to simply add those parts together and submit them as one piece of work. While it is acceptable and often

practical to begin in this way, you must then work together to check and improve each part collectively

as a team, to enhance the overall quality and cohesiveness. Finally, all team members should be

reasonably satisfied with the work, and accept ownership of it and responsibility for it.

 

5. As part of the Course Contract signed by students at the start of this course, every student agreed to make a full and equal contribution to the Team Project (refer to your copy of the Contract).

 

6. If any student is failing to fulfill his/her responsibilities to the team, the other team members should draw this to the attention of the student concerned as soon as possible, and help and encourage that

student to become an equal contributor. If this should prove unsuccessful, the team should then notify

the Instructor at the earliest opportunity (do not wait until the final week of the project!).

 

7. As there are students with different first languages in each team, it is essential that everyone speaks only in English during all team meetings, so that everyone has an equal opportunity to understand and

participate.