Assessment 3: Essay Custom Essay

Assessment 3: Essay, worth 30% – Week 8

Question:
“The bottom line is that organizational change is difficult because management systems are design, and people are rewarded for stability”. Critically discuss this statement.

This quote was sourced from:
Lawler,E.E. & Worley,C.G.. 2006. Built to Change: How to Achieve Sustained Organizational Effectiveness. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco. P.11

Due: The hard copy of your essay is due to your tutor in your tutorial in Week 9 but may be submitted earlier. A soft copy must be posted to iLearn via ‘Turnitin’ by 5:oopm Monday Week 8.
Late Submissions: will have 10% of the total mark deducted per day late, (including weekend days), up to five days, after which a mark of 0% will be awarded. Late assignments should be submitted to

Reception, level 2, to be date stamped and forwarded to your tutor for marking.
Note on extensions: Students wishing to apply for Special Consideration must apply in advance of the due date using the procedure in the Unit outline.
It is highly unlikely that an extension will be granted to any student for this assignment as the process is ongoing and the topic known from the beginning of the semester. Students are strongly advised to

commence work on this assignment early in the semester.
Length and presentation: The maximum essay length is 1500 words, excluding references. Include the word count at the end of the essay. Use 1.5 line spacing, 2.5 cm margins on top, bottom and on each side,

Times New Roman font size 12.
You are to attach an MQC cover sheet including your Turnitin receipt and tutor name. You also need to attach the 2 page marking guide included in this assessment guide.
Do not use colour printing, formatting templates, plastic, fancy or bound covers when submitting your report. Do not include an executive summary, abstract, footnotes or endnotes
Marks will be deducted for violations of these presentation rules.
Turnitin: In addition to hard copy submission, students must also submit an electronic copy of the report to the university’s plagiarism checking software, Turnitin. Title your document with your surname and

student number, e.g., Smith20062007. Turnitin can be found on the subject’s ILearn website under “Assignments”. Note: In the copy submitted to Turnitin, please do not include the reference list. Turnitin

currently accepts MS Word(xxx.doc) format. (i.e. not PDF, PowerPoint, etc). For more information see: http://www.turnitin.com/static/training.html and Student Quickstart Guide

http://www.turnitin.com/resources/documentation/turnitin/training/tii_student_qs.pdf.

Turnitin will check your assignment against over a billion internet articles, academic articles and previously submitted assignments in order to identify any cases which should be checked for plagiarism. Note

that the penalties for plagiarism can be severe and a case of plagiarism which is detected by other means will still be brought, even if the Turnitin program fails to detect it. So you must ensure that you submit

only your own work, with all sources properly acknowledged.

NB: Complete instructions for submission via iLearn and ‘Turnitin’ will be provided in the form of an iLearn announcement close to the due date.

Writing style: The essay should be written in formal academic narrative style. The essay will be evaluated for discriminatory language, clarity of expression and overall presentation including grammar, spelling

and punctuation. You may use bullet points for emphasis only, do not use casual language (or bracketed comments). Use headings sparingly. Reports must be fully and appropriately referenced using Harvard in

– text referencing. Substantial marks will be deducted for inadequate or incorrect referencing.

Feedback and marking criteria:
Marks and feedback, using a feedback sheet, will be given in class two weeks after submission. The marking criteria are:

1. Development of a consistent, clear and well-supported answer to the question
2. Overall quality of analysis, thinking in terms of key themes and issues raised in the question
3. Quality of academic research
a. Appropriate number of references sourced from academic journals/ databases
b. Relevance of sources to your argument
4. Appropriate structure
5. Clarity of expression and grammar
6. Correct use of Harvard referencing style

Assessment 4: Final Exam, worth 40%
A final examination is included in this unit to provide assurance that the product belongs to the student and the student has attained the knowledge and skills tested in the exam. A two hour exam will be held

during the university exam period. The exam will consist of two parts:

Section 1: Multiple Choice Questions: This will be in the same format as the early semester test. There will be 40 multiple choice questions
Section 2: Essay Questions: Students are required to answer two compulsory essay questions.

Material will come from textbook chapters identified below:

Week

Topic and chapter for final examination
Week 4

Corporate Social Responsibility & Elements of Sustainability– Lecturer slides
Week 5

Foundations of planning. Managing entrepreneurial ventures. Ch4

Week 6

Organisational structure & culture. Ch5

Week 7

Managing change & innovation. Ch7
Week 9

Managing Human Resources Ch6
Understanding groups and managing work teams Ch9

Week 10

Motivating & rewarding employees Ch10

Week 11

Leadership & trust Ch11
Communication & interpersonal skills Ch12
Week 12

Foundations of control Ch13

You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the University Examination Timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before

the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations. See http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/exam

The only exception to not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances, you may wish to consider applying for Special

Consideration. Information about unavoidable disruption and the special consideration process is available at http://www.reg.mq.edu.au/Forms/APSCon.pdf

If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Special Consideration process, the examination will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period.

You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching

semester (that is, the final day of the official examination period).

General standards applied to assessments.

High
Distinction

85-100%
The student demonstrates the competencies in Distinction standard and in addition demonstrates:
• Insightful and comprehensive identification and discussion of key scholarly literature concerning the specialist management topics. Advanced understanding of the relevant theory leading to

defensible generalisations.
• Expertly links research to the relevant theory.
• Demonstrates capacity to use new insights to critically appraise literature, ideas and arguments, draws well-supported conclusions, and applies relevant theory.
• Uses creative examples, possible extensions, and applications of theory.
• The work has been written, referenced and presented to an exemplary, publishable, academic standard, and presents a compelling and effective argument/discussion.

Distinction

75-84%
The student demonstrates the competencies in Credit standard and in addition:
• Demonstrates selectivity and uses judgement in determining the importance of readings and ideas. Develops a progressive, convincing, and clear argument throughout the work
• Links the relevant theory to the research.
• Shows evidence of wide reading and synthesis of ideas.
• Demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the relevant theory.
• The work has been written and presented to a high academic standard, and presents a coherent argument.

Credit

65-74%
The student demonstrates the competencies in Pass standard and in addition:
• Demonstrates the understanding of key management concepts, theories, and issues. Key literature identified and discussed. Demonstrates a sound understanding of relevant theory.
• Demonstrates a sound capacity to appraise literature, ideas and arguments, to draw limited conclusions and apply relevant theory
• May sometimes lapse into description rather than providing analysis and evaluation.
• Provides a satisfactorily structured, sourced, and referenced work which is clearly written and grammatically accurate in terms of spelling. Some significant improvements needed to meet a standard

suitable for publication. Argument/discussion credible.

Pass
50-64%

The student demonstrates the following:
• Most of the key concepts, theories, and issues in the specialist topic are identified and discussed. Conveys a basic understanding of the relevant theory.
• Links the relevant theory to the research.
• The work provides little or no evidence of critical analysis and may simply restate or describe. The work is not synthesises or integrated and lacks depth of analysis.
• Relies extensively on text, or limited readings providing little evidence of research. May demonstrate a narrow focus.
• The work is presented with sufficient coherence and clarity for the reader to understand the ideas and arguments being proposed. Improvements to writing such as structure, grammar and

referencing are required to meet academic writing standards. Argument/discussion has some flaws.

Fail

0-49%
The student may demonstrate some or all of the following;
• Has not identified key scholarly literature concerning the specialist topic. Conveys little evidence of understanding of relevant theory.
• The work conveys little evidence of the capacity to appraise literature, ideas, and arguments, to draw appropriate conclusions and apply relevant theory.
• Demonstrates a failure to identify the issues.
• Demonstrates a failure to answer the question or misinterprets the question.
• Does not provide evidence of the minimum scholarly reading requirements (6).
• The work demonstrates little understanding or appreciation of standards required for academic writing. Improvements in terms of clarity, grammar, spelling, quotations, topic 6referencing or

presentation are required to achieve an acceptable standard.
• Assessment not handed in on time.

Marking Guide: Assessment 2 – Group Report & Presentation
BBA102 2014 Session 1

Topic:¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬-_________________________________________________________________________

Name: ______________________________________ ID Number __________________________
Name: ______________________________________ ID Number __________________________
Name: ______________________________________ ID Number __________________________
Name: ______________________________________ ID Number __________________________
Name: ______________________________________ ID Number __________________________
Name: ______________________________________ ID Number __________________________

Criteria Outstanding
(15-20) Satisfactory
(10-14.5) Unsatisfactory
(0-14)
Preparation (evidence of preparation, team work, quality)

Presentation (evidence of analytical thinking, relevance, interest, thought provoking)
Delivery (pace, modulation, clarity, eye contact)

Activity (interest, participation, relevance, questioning)

Mark ______________________________%

Additional Comments if appropriate.

Marking guide: Assessment 3 – ESSAY
Student name
Date received Student number

Criteria O S U
Development of a consistent, clear and well-supported answer to the question

Overall quality of analysis, thinking in terms of the key themes and issues raised in the question
Quality of academic research
– Appropriate number of references sourced from academic journals/ databases
– Relevance of sources to your argument
Appropriate structure (introduction, body, conclusion)
Clarity of expression and grammar

Correct use of Harvard referencing style

O= Outstanding, S = Satisfactory, U= Unsatisfactory
Penalties applied
TOTAL
General Comments

Marking guide: Assessment 3 – ESSAY RUBRIC

Essay Criteria Outstanding Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Development of a consistent, clear and well-supported answer to the question Identifies the issue / problem with clarity, accuracy and precision

Demonstrates an understanding of the primary question/ issue/ problem

No demonstrated evidence of an understanding of the question, or identifies a different issue

Overall quality of analysis, thinking in terms of the key themes and issues raised in the question (30%) Logical analysis and evaluation of arguments, theory and information. Insightful analysis shows depth

of understanding and development of own ideas

Description of theory and information

Little to no discussion of relevant theory and information

Quality of academic research
Appropriate number of references sourced from academic journals/ databases Demonstrated use of more than 6 sources comprised of
– 2 references from ‘starting references list’ AND
– Stretch reading AND
– >3 additional peer-reviewed papers from academic journals Demonstrated use of 6 sources comprised of
– 2 references from ‘starting references list’
– 4 additional peer-reviewed papers from academic journals
Uses less than 2 sources from ‘starting references list’ AND/OR less than 4 additional peer-reviewed papers from academic journals
Relevance of sources to your argument Selection of additional sources appropriate to the student’s argument Selection of additional sources appropriate to the essay question Additional

sources are irrelevant

Appropriate structure Text is well-structured and coherent, with a clear and effective introduction and conclusion; body is logically sequenced with clear transitions between parts; paragraphs are well

developed

Text is structured with an introduction and conclusion and body with clearly defined parts, although those could be developed more effectively. Transition between paragraphs can be improved

Text poorly structured; introduction and/or conclusion not clear or effective; body not clearly structured; paragraphs/ sections not well developed; ineffective transitions between paragraphs, use of

lists/ bullet points

Clarity of expression and grammar No spelling mistakes, absence of contractions, appropriate academic tone, well-constructed sentences

Some spelling mistakes and rare use of contractions, ‘informal tone’ inappropriate word choice, such as “text” language, spelling or colloquial expressions

Multiple spelling mistakes, extensive use of contractions; poor sentence structure; ‘informal tone’ inappropriate word choice, such as “text” language, spelling or colloquial expressions

Correct use of Harvard referencing style Referencing is consistently accurate using Harvard style(as per MQ guide)

Referencing is mainly accurate using Harvard style (as per MQ guide)

Referencing is absent or does not conform to Harvard style (as per MQ guide)