HRES1101 Organizational Behaviour

Assignment – Organizational Effectiveness and Workplace Culture

This assignment, Organizational Effectiveness and Workplace Culture, is worth 42 marks (20%) of overall grade.

Learning Outcomes:

• Analyze components of organizational effectiveness.
• Explain elements of organizational culture.
• Examine factors impacting employee behaviour and performance.

Assignment Overview:

Organizational effectiveness is always a key topic of conversation within the organizational boardroom. Companies are finally realizing that the answer to running an effective business is no longer as simple as cutting costs and increasing workload. Organizational behaviour practitioners believe that in order for an organization to truly be effective, they must address and embrace 4 key perspectives (practices) - not just 1 or 2, but all 4: Open System Perspective, Learning Perspective, High Performance Work Practices (HPWP), and Stakeholder Relationships.

Another important factor which has been proven to impact organizational effectiveness is workplace culture. This refers to shared values and assumptions within an organization…the sum of attitudes, customs, traditions, and values which distinguish one group of people from another. Many organizations realize the valuable role developing a strong workplace culture can play on overall performance, and have therefore made it a prime area of focus within their workplace. 

This assignment will provide an opportunity for learners to explore organizational effectiveness and workplace culture through the lens of Organizational Behaviour, and the important role the aforementioned concepts play in a company’s long-term success.

This is NOT a research assignment. Although you may choose to use secondary research to help support some of your thoughts, your own ideas, original thought, experiences, and insights should be the primary focus of this assignment. I am NOT looking for a research paper. Assignment must be submitted through the dropbox (TurnItIn results must be LESS than 10%). Read the grading rubric carefully as it identifies important assignment criteria.

Academic Honesty

Ensure you are aware of the College policies on Academic Honesty and also Plagiarism. Academic dishonesty and plagiarism are taken very seriously at the College even if the dishonesty or plagiarism is unintentional. Please also know that taking credit for work you did not contribute to as it is also considered Academic Dishonesty and will be reported. 

Turnitin

This assignment will be submitted to Turnitin. Turnitin is a web-based service that checks the assignment against its database of materials that contain other learner’s work as well as electronic academic materials.

Learners find the Turnitin report useful for editing papers. The report will include incorrect use of referencing, too many quotes, and paraphrases. If the Turnitin report, for your first draft, shows a high percentage of matching text, this will give you an opportunity to review and edit your assignment for proper citations and more original analysis. Once you make your edits, it is possible to submit your work to Turnitin again. Turnitin will know not to match the text in your second draft with text in your first draft, and so on. It is advisable to wait at least 24 hours before you submit the second draft. Turnitin results must be LESS than 10%.

Faculty finds Turnitin useful as a tool to teach learners proper citation practices and highlight the need for more learner originality. Faculty can also use Turnitin as a tool to detect possible instances of plagiarism and academic dishonesty. 

Academic dishonesty can lead to a zero for this. Ensure you have read the Chiu School of Business Learner Handbook for more information about the Academic Honesty Policy. If you have any questions, contact your instructor.

Important:

1. If you do use any secondary sources within your paper (e.g. books, electronic articles etc.), make sure it is MINIMAL (this is NOT a research paper…assignment is to be based on your own experience and insights).

Any research must be cited within your assignment and a reference page must be provided at the end using proper APA formatting (refer APA Tips document on Brightspace/D2L).  

2. Assignment must be submitted through the dropbox. Turnitin results must be LESS than 10%.

Organization and Structure of Assignment:

The assignment must meet the following guidelines:

1. Be 1,250 - 1750 words in length (approximately 5-7 pages). This count does NOT include the title page or reference page.
2. Content should be written using full sentence/paragraph format.
3. Provide a bold heading for each section in your paper which clearly identifies each component. For example, you will need to provide a bold heading for your introduction, each of the 3 perspectives you will be addressing (e.g. Open Systems, Learning Perspective, Stakeholder Perspective), workplace culture, and your conclusion. In total, your assignment will contain 6 bolded headings (sections). Please note that each section does NOT require a separate page. Simply begin each section/heading immediately following the content from the previous section. Do NOT begin a new page if there is room on the current page to begin the next section.
4. Be formatted in accordance with APA guidelines. If research has been used in your assignment, you must include a separate reference page listing your sources as well as a title page (these are not included in the 5-7-page requirement for the body of the paper). Please refer to Bow Valley College’s Learning Resource, APA Formatting Guide http://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/apa-style.
5. Be typed in 12 point Times New Roman Font.
6. Use 2.0 (double) line spacing.
7. Title page with the name of the assignment, a clear title, the name of your organization, your first and last name, your instructor’s first and last name, course name, and the due date of the assignment.
8. Important note: If you do use any secondary sources within your paper (e.g. books, electronic articles, etc.), make sure it is MINIMAL (this is NOT a research paper, the assignment is to be based on your own experience and insights). Any research must be cited ALL of your sources using APA formatting (please refer to Bow Valley College’s Learning Resource Services Page on citations link above: http://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/apa-style/citation for further information).
9. All submissions must be run through Turnitin, which is anti-plagiarism software used by Bow Valley College (once the instructor enables the Turnitin function, all assignments which are submitted through the dropbox will automatically be run through the Turnitin program).
10. Please review the Academic Honesty Module with respect to academic honesty and plagiarism. This information is located on Brightspace/D2L within the Program pages. (Location: https://d2l.bowvalleycollege.ca/d2l/home > Select your Program of Study under the heading My Programs > Select the Academic Honesty Module under the Content Browser)
11. You will receive a mark of zero if your work is copied or plagiarized and further disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with the academic honesty policy.
12. Your paper will be marked in accordance with the Rubric attached to this assignment.
13. Submit your assignment to the Brightspace/D2L dropbox provided.

Organizational Effectiveness and Workplace Culture Instructions:

(5-7 pages)

Do NOT submit 5-7 pages of definitions or chapter summaries explaining organizational effectiveness and workplace culture as this will result in a zero grade. The bulk of this section should illustrate application of the 3 perspectives you chose along with a thorough description of their workplace culture.

Organizational effectiveness:

Consider the work practices and conditions within your current workplace (or perhaps a previous workplace of yours). Choose 3 perspectives of organizational effectiveness (NOT all 4) and critique how your organization does, or does not, address these practices (note: if you do not have any work experience, choose an organization which interests you and research it. Follow the same instructions, provide relevant examples, support your responses with secondary research, cite your references throughout, and provide a

reference page).

I am looking for application of organizational perspectives here. This will require critical thinking on your part which means you will be expected to understand and explore organizational effectiveness through a variety of different lenses as it relates to your company.

Although some examples may fit within multiple perspectives, clearly explain “why” your examples are relevant to the particular perspective you have chosen. Each example can only be used once within your paper.

Workplace culture:

In addition to addressing organizational effectiveness perspectives, you will describe the workplace culture within your organization. What are the core values shared by employees that guide employee behaviour? Describe various artifacts within your organization which support the workplace culture you have identified (e.g. physical structure, language, rituals, etc.). Do you feel your organization has a strong or weak culture? Justify your response and provide examples.

NOTE: Learners who do not have work experience, you will need to choose an organization which interests you and conduct secondary research for this assignment (e.g. internet). Follow the same instructions as provided above - you will address whether the organization does, or does not, effectively apply the three perspectives you chose. You will also research and describe their workplace culture. Proper APA formatting is required (e.g. cite proper references throughout your paper to support your ideas and examples, provide a reference page).