Week 8

Assessment
Preparation
Dr Claire O'Neill
Management and Organisation
EFIMM0145

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Summative assessment overview
 100% of overall mark
 Length: 3000 words
 Format: Microsoft word, Font size 12, 1.5 line spaced,
readable font (e.g. Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial)
 Cover page will be provided closer to the time
 Abstract, table of contents, appendices etc. not needed
but it’s ok if you wish to include these
 Reference list (and any of the above) are not included
in the word count
 Deadline: TBA
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Assessment question

How does management and organisation theory

enable us to examine, critique and interrogate
the structures and practices of a real-life
organisation?

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Assessment brief
The purpose of this essay is to assess your knowledge and
understanding of theory, concepts and perspectives covered on the
unit, and your ability to apply this knowledge to a real-life
organisation
The key topics we cover are:
Taylorism and Bureaucracy
The HR school, new wave management and post-bureaucracy
Organisational culture and cultural management
Motivation at work
Diversity and social inequality
Ethics, CSR, and sustainability
Politics, power, and decision-making
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 Assessment brief cont.

• Drawing on theory covered in the unit, you are required to critically analyse an organisation of
your choice
• Best to choose one or perhaps two topics to focus on, otherwise you are unlikely to achieve
sufficient depth in your analysis
• The organisation you choose can be from the public, private or third sector
• Remember that you will need to research this organisation, and provide reliable evidence for your
claims, so it’s probably best to choose an organisation that is well-known and has been written
about in the media/academic scholarship
• Make sure you address the requirements of the question: it asks you to “examine, critique and
interrogate” an organisation. Your essay should engage critically with the organisation
• We also expect to see critical engagement with theory

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Summative Assessment and ILOs
Intended learning outcomes
By the end of the course students should to able to:
1. Identify and describe a range of issues related to the study and
practice of management and how organisations impact on and
interact with their stakeholders.
2. Explain and discuss key management and organisational theory and
concepts and demonstrate an awareness of multiple perspectives
and critical debates within the field.
3. Apply management and organisational theory to real-life scenarios
(e.g. in the form of academic case studies and contemporary
organisations).
4. Analyse organisational behaviour using relevant theory.
5. Demonstrate an ability to develop critical and theoretically informed
arguments regarding the ethics and appropriateness of management
practice and of existing management theory.
6. Evaluate management and organisational theory and its impact on
individuals and society.
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Summative Assessment rationale

• Allows you to demonstrate all of the intended learning

outcomes
• Provides plenty of choice and autonomy
• Requires creativity, independence and critical thinking
• Opportunity to explore topics you are interested in more
deeply through self-directed study/research
• Excellent learning opportunities for your dissertation

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Referencing
Students should identify and read relevant academic literature, by doing
in-depth research of the case study & conducting analysis of the case
study based on the academic theory and literature.
The lectures, textbook, core readings are just the starting point.
Independent research is key to your success on assignment and this
unit.
We do, however, expect to see clear evidence of engagement with
theory and perspectives covered in the core material.

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Referencing (cont.)
Aim for between 20-30 academic references (approx.).
Please use Harvard referencing.
You must use in text citations (Johnson, 1992).
You must also have a full bibliography at the end of your assignment:
 Johnson,G. (1992). Managing strategic change—strategy, culture and action. Long
Range Planning, 25(1), 28-36.

How to reference:
 Check the student handbook or library website

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Tips for assignment success

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Assignment structure
Introduction
• Briefly identify your question, case study and theoretical approach
• Explain structure and key argument

Body of assignment
• Outline your case study — why did you choose this particular organisation?
• Outline your theory/topic — demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of relevant theory
• A theoretical reading/analysis of your case study
• Remember we are looking for your ability to engage with and apply theory to the case study
• You should avoid a lot of description (some description of your chosen case study is important but
this should be followed with in depth analysis)
• Remember to reference throughout your essay — you must demonstrate an engagement with a) core
literature and b) additional literature that connects to your topic (to do this you will need to search
online journals and use the library)

Conclusion
• Summarise main points and argument

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Writing style
• Adopt a formal, intelligent, critical, academic tone.
• Do not use slang or over-familiar phrases.
• Avoid making jokes or using personal anecdotes.
• Avoid pointless digressions and personal opinions that are ill-
thought out, non-academic and of dubious validity.
• Avoid ignorant, generalised statements about the state of the
world, contemporary culture, and ‘human nature’.
• Don’t assume that you know what people are ‘really like’, or
what they ‘really think’ or ‘feel’ or ‘want’ — you don’t.
• If you must make general points that are not backed by
evidence, be very careful with their phrasing.
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Don’t state opinions as facts
Afteryou have covered an argument, don’t charge in by
saying ‘well I think this is false/rubbish, I think that …’
Instead make your points in a more neutral and careful
fashion
For example:
 ‘It could be argued instead that…’;
 ‘Alternatively, it could be suggested that…’;
 ‘Another argument could be made that…’;
 ‘An alternative perspective is possible here …’;
 ‘We could take issue with this as it could be argued, in contrast, that
…’, etc.
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Fact or interpretation?
When you are explaining what an author believes or the argument of
a particular perspective, never state it all as fact
Instead of saying that,
 ‘the world is divided into two classes, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie’
or that
 ‘organisations can be read from multiple perspectives’
you must attribute these claims:
 ‘Marx argues …’, or ‘according to Morgan …’, etc.
You can include summary statements such as, ‘From this perspective
…’; ‘It is claimed here that …’; ‘This perspective argues that …’, etc.

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How to structure an argument
Claim:
I claim that…

Reason:
Because of these reasons….

Evidence:
Which I base on this evidence and these examples…

Acknowledgement and response:

Acknowledge and respond with questions, objections
and alternatives
 Importance of critical engagement
Critical engagement is about:
 Having an understanding of different authors’ views and
contributions;
 Understanding different perspectives and the assumptions that
underpin particular viewpoints;
 Engaging in self reflection i.e. trying to work out what you
personally take for granted; and
 Unpeelingthe beliefs, attitudes and actions that result in
asymmetries of power.

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 Top tips….

Don’t present ‘black and white’ arguments.

The more you read (and the more you know), the easier it is to write in an
appropriate style.
You need to demonstrate your understanding — so conceptual clarity is
important.
Define key terms and use language consistently.
Make sure you are aware of moral and ethical issues.
Taking a purely managerial stance suggests you haven’t understood much of what the course is
about (i.e. you have failed to engage critically, with the multiple perspectives we cover).
For essays, referencing key authors appropriately is very important.
Make sure the argument has a logical structure and your paragraphs flow one
from another with appropriate signposts for the reader.

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Questions?

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 Individual Exercise

For 5 minutes, think about the assignment question/brief and start to

consider how you will approach this:

• What topics/ bodies of theory are you interested in (bearing in mind we have
two topics left that might be of particular interest to you)
• Can you think of an appropriate organisation to analyse through the lens of
that topic/body of theory?

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Group/pair Exercise

Share your thoughts with one or two of your neighbours

Can you provide advice to your peers?

Are there any further questions you have now?

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