Teaching Period 2, 2020
ORG20003: Organisational Behaviour
Assignment 2: Case study team report
Word limit: 2000 (+/- 10%)
Weighting: 30%
Due date: 5pm AEST Monday 14 September 2020 (Week 10)
After you have read this information, head over to the Assignment 2 Q&A discussion board to ask any
questions and see what your peers are saying about this assignment.
Assignment overview
The purpose of this assignment is to challenge you to apply OB concepts to real life issues/problems.
You should try to capture one or more organisational behaviour issue/dilemmas/challenges faced by
management in a real organisational setting, and come up with alternative approaches to solving
issues and problems based on sound reasoning and support of relevant OB theory and best practice.
Assignment 2 is a team assignment. The teams are made up of four to five students and you will use
a team discussion board to collaborate. There is a discussion in Week 4 where you can allocate
yourself to a team. Your eLA will ensure that you know how to access your team discussion board
once the teams are formed.
Working as a team to produce this report will provide you with an opportunity to hone your teamwork
skills. These skills are directly transferable to workplace environments where individual and team
accountability is expected.
This assignment supports unit learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Assignment details
As a team of four to five students, you will draw on your understanding of Organisational Behaviour
(OB) theory and apply it to a case study. The five cases form the basis for this assignment. You are
required to choose one of them, as a team, and produce a report drawing on two or three of the OB
theories you have covered during this unit. You can access them via the link below:
Case studies (PDF 136 KB) (Swinburne Online n.d.)
You should thoroughly research the issues you consider relevant to the case and link them to
associated OB theories providing recommendations.
Your report should cover the following items:
Why this particular case was chosen for your report.
An overview of the case study.
A summary of the major OB-related issues involved in this case.
An explanation of these issues and recommendations for processes and procedures to avoid a
reoccurence (supported by relevant OB concepts and theories).
The team charter you developed during the Week 6 activity is an essential part of establishing a
common focus for this task. It should be appended to your report to attract an automatic 5% of the
overall mark for this assignment.
Please note: the team charter is not included in the word count for this assignment.
Please draw from the following suggested structure to guide your report development:
Title page
Executive summary
Table of contents
Introduction
Brief overview of the case study.
Why this particular case was chosen for your report.
The purpose of the report.
Your methodology (including the scope of the report).
Body
Overview of the case study.
Issues identified (an issues statement).
Conclusion
Highlighting what has been learnt from the case study.
Recommendations
The issues you have identified should be addressed here using relevant academic literature
to support your decisions.
References
All sources used should have in-text citations and should be properly referenced using
Swinburne Harvard-style referencing. You may refer to the Swinburne Harvard style guide
(http://www.swinburne.edu.au/library/referencing/harvard-style-guide/) for assistance.
Appendices
Including the team charter (DOC 64 KB) (not included in word count) you created in
Week 6 as well as any relevant information (such as tables, graphs, etc.) that supports your
findings.
The Study Resources area of the Student Hub has a section on Report writing
(https://studenthub.swinburneonline.edu.au/academic-writing-and-presenting) and a document on Tips
for successful teamwork (https://studenthub.swinburneonline.edu.au/teamwork) that may help you
with this assignment.
Submission details overview
This assignment will be submitted through Canvas. When you are ready to submit your assignment,
select the 'Submit Assignment' button at the top of this page. You will be taken to the 'File Upload' tab
where you can choose your file or submit your URL.
Please note: When you submit your assignment through Canvas, you are also submitting the
assignment through Turnitin, which is a text-matching service that compares your work with an
international database of information sources. You will need to agree to using it.
Once you have submitted your assignment, select 'Submission Details' on the right of your screen to
view your originality report if you haven't already done so.
Please allow a 24-hour turnaround for an originality report to be generated. See the 'Turnitin
originality report' area of the Academic practice
(https://studenthub.swinburneonline.edu.au/academic-practice) page in the Study Resources section of
the Student Hub for several guides to assist with the submission process.
Assignment support
Don't forget that in addition to your eLAs who provide discipline-specific content advice, you can
access the 24/7 draft writing service from Studiosity.
If you need assistance with academic feedback on a draft of your assignment task, see Assignment
support: Studiosity.
Assignment criteria
- Structure and format of report (including referencing).
- Content knowledge.
- Critical analysis.
- Written communication.
- Team charter.
Your work will be assessed using the following marking guide:
Assignment 2 marking guide
Criteria No Pass Pass
50-59%
Credit
60-69%
Distinction
70-79%
High Distinction
80-100%
Criteria No Pass Pass
50-59%
Credit
60-69%
Distinction
70-79%
High Distinction
80-100%
Structure
and format
of report
(including
referencing)
(15%)
Did not
meet
criterion.
The report
contains most
required sections,
although each
section could be
better developed
or detailed.
An attempt has
been made to
correctly cite and
reference all
sources used.
There is an overreliance on direct
quotes (10% of
total word count)
and the
integration of
others' ideas with
the writing can at
times be
awkward.
The reference list
adheres mostly to
Swinburne
Harvard style.
The report
contains all the
required sections,
which have been
adequately
developed and
detailed.
Most sources
used are correctly
cited and
referenced
according to
Swinburne
Harvard style.
There are fewer
than 10 errors in
the referencing. A
limited number of
reporting verbs
have been used
to introduce and
integrate the
ideas of others.
The report
contains all the
required sections.
The majority of
sources used are
correctly cited
and referenced
according to
Swinburne
Harvard style.
There are fewer
than 5 errors in
the referencing.
A reasonable
number of
reporting verbs
have been used
to introduce and
integrate the
ideas of others.
The report
contains all the
required sections.
All sources used
are correctly cited
and referenced
according to
Swinburne
Harvard style.
There are no
errors with the
referencing.
Criteria No Pass Pass
50-59%
Credit
60-69%
Distinction
70-79%
High Distinction
80-100%
Content
knowledge
(35%)
Did not
meet
criterion.
Some significant
issues in the case
study have been
identified. These
issues have been
addressed in the
recommendations
section using
some relevant
academic
literature and OB
theory.
Nevertheless,
some unclear and
irrelevant content
remains.
The conclusion
section mostly
highlights what
has been learnt
from the case
study.
Most significant
issues in the case
study have been
identified and
discussed with
appropriate and
accurate detail
and description.
These issues
have been
addressed in the
recommendations
section using a
range of relevant
and reliable
academic
literature and OB
theory.
The conclusion
section highlights
what has been
learnt from the
case study.
All significant
issues in the case
study have been
identified.
These issues
have been
addressed in the
recommendations
section using a
range of relevant,
current and highly
credible
resources,
showing a
consistent and
sound
understanding of
OB theory.
There is a
consistent
justification of
answers to
identified issues
and the learning
reflection.
The conclusion
section clearly
highlights what
has been learnt
from the case
study.
The issues in the
case study have
been identified.
These issues
have been
addressed in the
recommendations
section using a
wide range of
relevant, current
and highly
credible
resources,
showing a
consistent and
sound
understanding of
OB theory.
The report
consistently and
confidently
demonstrates
accurate, detailed
and
comprehensive
understanding of
the relevant
theories to
explain and justify
decisions and
these decisions
clearly link to a
thorough analysis
of the case study
and relevant
literature.
The conclusion
section clearly
and effectively
highlights what
has been learnt
from the case
study.
Criteria No Pass Pass
50-59%
Credit
60-69%
Distinction
70-79%
High Distinction
80-100%
Critical
analysis
(30%)
Did not
meet
criterion.
The writing is
largely
descriptive with
statements of
theories provided.
Critical analysis
requires greater
analysis of the
applicability of
these theories
and
considerations to
the particular
case study, so
this needs to be
evident.
Information from
more relevant
and reliable
sources could be
presented, so
that greater
points of
view/approaches
are presented.
Proposes
recommendations
that are difficult to
evaluate because
they are vague or
only indirectly
addresses the
case study
situation.
The relevant
theories are
correctly
identified, defined
and applied to the
case study
example.
There is some
comparative
evaluation.
The writing
questions some
assumptions in
the literature. It
identifies several
relevant contexts
when presenting
a position.
The report
demonstrates the
ability to
construct an
issues statement
based on the
relevant theories
with evidence
provided of the
most relevant
contextual
factors. However,
the issues
statement could
be more complex.
The issues
statement is
complex and
complete.
The writing ably
demonstrates the
attributes of
critical reading,
critical thinking
and analysis
through the
report's structure
and the way it is
supported and
illustrated.
Criteria No Pass Pass
50-59%
Credit
60-69%
Distinction
70-79%
High Distinction
80-100%
Written
expression
(15%)
Did not
meet
criterion.
There is some
evidence of
appropriate word
choice in terms of
academic and
professional
standards.
Nevertheless, this
is inconsistent
throughout.
There are 10
significant errors
in grammar and
punctuation.
These can prove
intrusive and
disruptive for the
reader.
The report has
little evidence of
final editing so
some careless,
ambiguous
and/or
inappropriate
language use is
evident.
There is some
evidence of
appropriate and
deliberate word
choice.
Nevertheless,
there remains
half a dozen
significant errors
in grammar and
punctuation,
some of which
require
reformulation of
the sentence by
the reader.
The review has
some evidence of