Assessment Details and Submission Guidelines | |
Trimester | T3 2020 |
Unit Code | HI6005 |
Unit Title | Management and Organisations in a Global Environment |
Assessment Type | Tutorial Questions (Individual Assignment) This is strictly required to be your own original work. Plagiarism will be penalised. Students are required to apply the theories and knowledge derived from the unit materials, demonstrate critical analysis and provide a considered and comprehensive evaluation. Students must use correct in-text citation conventions. |
Assessment Title | Tutorial Questions Assignment |
Purpose of the Assessment and Linkage to ULO. | Student is required to answer 6 questions come from the tutorial questions The following Unit Learning Outcomes are applicable to this assessment:
strategies |
Weight | 50% |
Total Marks | 50 Marks |
Word limit | The word limit is provided in each question |
Assignment Specifications
A minimum of 12 peer-reviewed academic articles in total must be cited in the text to support your claims/arguments, and all references must be listed appropriately at the end of the report using Harvard referencing style.
Purpose:
This assignment is designed to assess your level of knowledge of the key topics covered in this unit “Management and Organisations in a Global Environment”.
Details
Answer All SIX (6) of the following questions.
Question 1 Week 3: Tutorial 2 (Question 3) (7 marks)
What are the downsides, if any, of building a diverse workforce? Answer this question in 300 words (support your arguments with key research findings on diversity management).
Question 2 Week 4: Tutorial 3 (Question 3) (7 marks)
What could the individual employees do to help manage their own stress more effectively? Answer this question in 300 words (support your claims/arguments with key research findings on managing stress in the workplace: individual).
Question 3 Week 6: Tutorial 5 (Question 3 & 4) (11 marks)
What are the essentials for team-based organisational success? What are the challenges of a team- based organisation, specifically in terms of virtual teams? What are the required competencies for virtual leadership? Answer this question in 300 words (support your claims/arguments with key research findings on team-based organisation challenges and success).
Question 4 Week 8: Tutorial 7 (Question 3) (11 marks)
Explain the various things you can do to improve your effectiveness as a communicator in organisations. Answer this question in 300 words (support your claims/arguments with key research findings on effective communicators in organisations)
Question 5 Week 9: Tutorial 8 (Question 2) (7 marks)
Describe the major types of individual power in organisations. Answer this question in 300 words (support your claims/arguments with key research findings on organisational politics and power).
Question 6 Week 10: Tutorial 9 (Question 2) (7 marks)
Distinguish between mechanistic organisations and organic organisations, as described by the contingency approach to organisational design (support your claims/arguments with key research findings on contingency approach to differentiate mechanistic organisations and organic organisations).
Question 1
Diversity is one of the key factors which can help people acknowledge differences and it can also enable an organization to outperform its competitors in the long run. However, diversity can also make an organization susceptible to various issues.
The prime ones are as follows:
Barriers to language and communication
A diversified workforce comprises a workforce which exhibits differentiating characteristics. It is important to take into account various factors such as the aspects of diversity at place of work which may impose barriers to communication and create issues associated with delay at place of work (NZONZO and DU PLESSIS, 2020). The barriers to communication may also impose issues associated with disparity in thoughts and this may lead to occurrence of conflicts at place of work.
The problems and issues associated with the barriers to communication may lead to a poor level of understanding among the workers and this may lead to subsequent delays at place of work (DABIJA, 2020). The barriers also include components such as inability to speak or be able to comprehend a subject in a manner or make the same understandable to the rest of the workforce.
Gaps in between generations
A diversified workforce is most likely to comprise members from all age groups. It is important to note that the section of the workforce who are young and relatively inexperienced would tend to behave differently from those who have relatively greater experience (MARSHALL and SCHRANK, 2020). A young individual would be more prone to taking risks and would also be willing to try new things compared to an experienced individual. In comparison to this, an experienced individual would be more prone to avoiding risks and would take decisions in a calculative manner. This would lead to conflict of interests leading to disputes.
Acceptance and respect
The component of acceptance and respect may also pose to be an issue at the place of work. This can aid aspects such as differences in notion and this may also lead to components such as differing opinions and it may cause the workforce to mistreat each other.
Question 2
An individual involved in any activity at the workplace is often expected to multitask in order to get jobs done within stipulated deadlines (BIEŃKOWSKA et al., 2020). Apart from external motivation, an individual can assume various responsibilities in order to stay self motivated.
Setting targets and meeting the same can allow employees to build confidence and it may also allow an individual to meet small targets and avoid procrastination. This is possible if an employee keeps a routine diary which records the activities along with their stipulated deadlines which the employee wishes to undertake subsequently in the future.
Taking short breaks in between long hours of work tends to act as a recoil and can enable an employee to put in greater efforts while resuming tasks (KIM et al., 2020). The breaks in between long hours of work enables employees to regenerate their thinking abilities and conceptually apply their knowledge to tasks which in turn improves their efficiency.
Interacting with peers is also a great way to reduce the level of stress encountered by an individual. The frequent form of interaction often enables the individual to discuss new ideas and innovate upon strategic solutions to deliver activities with a high degree of precision (PŪRAITĖ et al., 2020). The act of interacting with peers also makes an individual aware about his own efficiency by comparing his own performance with that of peers.
Leading a healthy lifestyle is also one of the most prominent ways in which an individual can significantly reduce stress at the place of work. This involves a number of activities such as spending fruitfully instead of long hours at place of work (USAMA et al., 2020). It is also important to account for the notions which involve eating a well balanced diet which might reduce stress and also opting for options such as pursuing soft skill development activities which may lead to a greater degree of efficiency at place of work.
Question 3
The most important aspects which should be considered while emphasizing upon team based form of organizational success includes factors such as assumption of accountability and responsibility, effective form of leadership, ensuring training and development, gaining access to and making optimal utilization of resources (NETO, 2020). Apart from this individuals within the team should be encouraged to communicate with each other and clearly outline their point of views in order to ensure the availability of a wide range of diverse solutions. The aspects which must be taken into consideration involve factors such as proper leadership and management which can ensure success for virtual and physical teams comprising a diversified workforce.
A workforce which comprises virtual teams may be susceptible to several issues. This may involve differences in the style of communication, lack of proper work structure and mistrust among the employees (MANYA et al., 2020). Maintaining a proper line of communication is essential and it can enable an individual to avoid obstacles and difficulties by being engaged in work. Slow responses from workers during peak pressure also adds to the existing factors of difficulty.
The most essential characteristics which are essential for virtual characteristics involve components such as trust, attentiveness and a high degree of communication. Trust is one of the key components which is essential for building upon any successful relationship. The major elements of trust include factors such as competence, integrity, care and a high degree of dependability. Communication is one of the key factors which takes into consideration the factors such as management of teams through facilitating exchange of information. The aspects of trust and attentivity are essential components which can help an organization to build a strong virtual team (RUSSELL et al., 2020). The tone of communication is also highlighted and virtual team members should take into account the aspect as to how they are able to verbally communicate and display their emotions.
Question 4
There are various steps which can be undertaken in order to become a good communicator. The steps are as follows:
An efficient communicator should also be able to express own opinion and point of views in an appropriate manner and also acknowledge the ideas put forth by different individuals. It is also important to practice active listening as an important component which can ensure building of a long term good relationship among the employees (MARSHALL and SCHRANK, 2020). Apart from this, it is also important to take into consideration factors such as identifying the point of views which might be taken into consideration in order to account for factors such as identifying the point of views of people.
Question 5
The types of individual power sources which are most commonly found in an organization includes. It is important to take into account various factors such as the importance of taking into consideration such as the degree of power and influence which might impact their personalities and characteristics (DABIJA, 2020). The most common types of power which are available include the aspects such as reward, coercive power, legitimate power, expert form of power and referent type of power. It is crucial to consider factors such as obtaining rewards and ensuring influence. The major kinds of power involve positional form of power, relational form of power and expertise. The positional form of power is usually based on the fact which enables an individual to exploit his own position at place of work due to his hierarchical position. The relational form of power enables the individuals to work together and collate as a team to maximize welfare and contribute towards greater organizational well being (NZONZO and DU PLESSIS, 2020).
The availability of expert advice should also take into account various factors such as the importance of various factors which must account for the skill set available with individuals which would enable the component. It is important for an individual to take into consideration the power available with individuals across an enterprise which would enable them to ensure that the productivity of the labourers is maximized (DABIJA, 2020). An individual should also take into account factors such as the coercive power, counterpower, expert power, leadership and legitimate power, normative form of power, power dependencies, referent power and reward form of power.
The availability of various types of power enables an individual to identify his characteristics to the best of own abilities and also account for factors such as power-based performance along with risk and reward contingencies (NETO, 2020). The aspect of normative power rests on the aspects such as beliefs of the members in the right of organization in order to govern the behaviour of the individuals.
Question 6
The contingency theory is an organizational theory which claims that the most effective manner in which an organization can be managed is by taking into consideration the components such as suggestion of the most optimal course of action which impacts the internal and external situation (MARSHALL and SCHRANK, 2020). The management theory suggests that the most appropriate style associated with management is dependent on the context of various situations which is dependent on adopting a rigid form of long-term approach.
A mechanistic form of organization is defined as a form of hierarchy which is attributed by a highly centralized form of authority. It also holds a variety of formalized procedures and practices which are involved in ensuring specialised functions and undergoes change at a very rapid rate. In this form of organization, it is found that employees are found to be working on their own and there exists a definite chain of command which keeps the process of decision as high as possible (PŪRAITĖ et al., 2020). On the other hand, an organic form of communication is characterized by a high degree of flatness in communication and low degree of specialization in knowledge along with the existence of a decentralized form of approach towards decision making. The employees are mostly found to be working in groups and they are involved in collating their work activities in an effective manner.