Real World Assignment: Absenteeism

PURPOSE: To solve a “real world” Organizational Behaviour (OB) problem this semester, that you are currently
experiencing in your school, workplace or personal life. The expectation is to not only understand
the problem through the OB lens, but to also actually implement a solution, measure results, and
discuss/reflect on the outcomes.
1. Problem Identification. Write a very short description (2 – 3 sentences) of your most important current
concern that you want to change, at work, school, or in your personal life. The scope should be narrow, specific
and something that you can actually solve this semester. No lengthy details about the cause; this will be
relevant in the next phase of this project.
Examples to guide you:
Some typical work-related problems and the OB concepts that apply to them:
• working with an unreasonable supervisor (conflict management, communication)
• absenteeism (motivation, job satisfaction, reward)
• conflict with coworkers (communication, conflict, negotiation)
• redesigning a certain aspect of your job (job crafting, communication, job satisfaction)
• obtaining visibility and favorable work assignments (communication, mentoring)
Some typical school-related problems and corresponding relevant OB concepts:
• finding an internship (goal setting)
• working with a free rider on a group project (teamwork)
• resolving difficulties with an international teaching assistant (cross-cultural issues)
• deciding on or changing one’s major (decision making)
• studying behaviour (motivation, behaviour modification, goal setting)
Some typical personal/life problems and the OB concepts that apply to them:
• re-establishing relations with a prodigal brother (communication, perception, personality)
• weight loss or physical fitness (behaviour modification, perception, goal setting)
• binge/emotional eating
• eating healthier meals
• stopping smoking/vaping (motivation, behaviour modification, goal setting)
• individual assertiveness (communication, personality)
• managing care of a diabetic grandfather (teamwork, conflict management, decision making)
• toilet training of an infant (behaviour modification, behaviour modelling, motivation, goal-setting)
• deciding whether to marry someone (decision making, perception, personality)
Tip:
• Before deciding on which problem or concern you’re going to go with, consider the other two sections
of this project. How are you going to measure the “thing” (target behaviour) that you want to change?
2
Author: George Baranyai, M.Ed.
Cautions:
• “time management” is not recommended as a topic.
• Chosen problem should be something you have influence over at the individual or small group level.
Unless you are the vice-president, don't pick a problem at the organizational level: "improve
organizational communication", “improve morale”, "improve retention", "manage conflict between
depts". Rather, keep it narrow in scope and realistic.
• If choosing “job satisfaction”, be aware this is a multi-dimensional concept with over 23 components.
Please focus on those facets that you can directly solve yourself [e.g., improve relations with
supervisor, coworkers, etc.]
• Before selecting a topic, are you going to be able to complete Milestone #2?
2. Topic Research. To gain a better understanding of your topic, you will unpack and explore the various
dimensions of your chosen problem issue [e.g., cognitive, behavioural, physical, situational, social, etc.).
Conduct a literature review of your topic to identify and briefly summarize the relevant aspects related to the
nature of the problem you want to solve. Also discuss potential challenges in changing or managing your OB
problem topic (e.g., managing withdrawal symptoms while quitting smoking). All sources for this milestone
report must be researched from Ryerson’s Library database (no Google). Maximum ¾ page for this sub-section.
3. Relevant OB Topics. Connect your identified problem to 3 theories or process models from the content of
our organizational behavior course. Other main OB concepts can also be integrated. Briefly cescribe how OB
theories explain the cause or provides a strategy for potentially solving your identified problem. In other words,
review the concept or theory and explain how it is operating in this particular OB problem? Assume that you
are explaining the concept to someone who has no knowledge of organizational behaviour. Additionally,
provide clear and specific examples from the problem/event to support your analysis. Be sure to link the
example back to the concept by telling me how the problem/event demonstrates the concept. Maximum ¾
page for this sub-section.
Formatting and Submission
APA formatting
Any figures, tables, graphics should be placed in a separate Appendix section at the end of report.
Suggested length: 1.5 pages. Deductions may be applied for exceeding maximum length limit.
Format: single spacing, 2 cm margins (top, left, right, bottom)
Utilize headings and sub-headings to organize content and ideas
Submit as MS Word file to Milestone # 1 Dropbox.
Weighted: 15% of this assignment
Late assignments will be assessed 10% deduction per day late. Submissions will not be accepted after two
calendar days late.