Assignment 2: Organisational Challenge. Management Essay

Assignment 2: Organisational Challenge
Format: Client Report and Infographic – note two-part submission
Must be 1.5 line spaced, 2.5 cm Margins,12 Point font (Times New Roman or Arial), title page must include your name and and zID number, footer must have page numbers
Due date: no later than 9.30am Friday 24 July via Moodle
Submission procedure: via Turnitin links available on COMM5010 Moodle site
NOTE: submitting the assignment via Turnitin includes an online declaration as to the authenticity of your work. It replaces the need to include a Coversheet on your assignment. Note a cover sheet is different to a title page
Weighting: 30% of your total course markLength: 2,000 words +/- 10%; the word count excludes the title page, table of contents, list of references and any appendices.PLUS 1-page infographic for the client
Description:The aim of this project is to enable you to apply important concepts from the course to an example of business practice, and to practice your case analysis and report writing skills. The project will help you improve your skills in consultancy to understand general manager problems, project management, team dynamics, research, communication, ethical analysis and report writing.Approach to the assignmentYou will meet a senior manager in week 2 via video where they will discuss their organisation and identify the megatrends impacting their business, including some specific challenges ahead. Your job is to consider how they should strategically respond. The premise is to hear first-hand what senior managers are thinking about and use your course knowledge to understand how megatrends and NBTs become apparent in the workplace.From this briefing, you will write a ‘consultancy report’ that considers the client problem from a strategic perspective based on a megatrend and NBT for the organisation issues presented in week 2. Building on knowledge from your previous study and using concepts and theories from this course and others as appropriate, you will provide at least 2 goals and actions plans to support this organisation as they face the future.You will also need to create an infographic for the client as an artefact of your ideas. These two documents will be submitted separately via Turnitin. 
Detailed Report RequirementsYour project report should include the following sections:IntroductionWhat is the purpose of this document?Organisational descriptionUsing information learned from the client presentation (and possibly subsequent research about the organisation), this section of your paper should draw on business knowledge to describe the organisation and its business context.Relevant megatrends and drivers for the organisationWhat trends are impacting trade and investment? What are the drivers and stories that create these? How are these relevant to the business? Be certain that you clearly specify which aspects of the organisation will be most influenced by your Next Big Thing.The NBTClearly explain the most relevant NBT for the organisation. Link this to industry understanding and in class materialsRecommendationsBy this point in the paper, you have described the organisation and its priorities, and clearly explained a specific, relevant Next Big Thing for your organisation. This section is where you provide recommendations for organisational response to the Next Big Thing.This section should have two elements. First, clearly state the goal or goals your recommendations are aiming to achieve. You may like to present this goal in SMART format. Second, the specific action steps that you recommend the organisation should take to achieve those goals should be clearly specified. In presenting your recommendations, be sure to make a persuasive case for why the organisation should follow your recommendations given their priorities.Goals should consist of concrete objectives that your recommendations are intended to achieve. Concrete objectives are measurable, observable, and countable. You may also choose to present these in the SMART format (see explanation of SMART here https://youtu.be/d6o5PyJM3bY ). The goals you present should be clearly related to the elements of the trend that are relevant for the organisation, and the key priorities of the organisation. It takes valuable space to clearly specify goals and provide recommendations for achieving each one. As such, it is recommended that you focus on identifying a small number of important goals (i.e., 1-3) that your recommendations aim to achieve.An example of a measurable, observable, and timely goal would be “Over the next 10 years, the company should aim to double the percentage of employees with over 15 years of industry experience from its current rate of 10% to 20%. These seasoned staff will help maintain high product quality and mentor the junior employees.” Action steps are the behaviours that organisational actors should take to reach the goals specified. As with the goals, these action steps should be concrete – i.e. they should be measurable, observable, and countable. In addition, these action steps should be realistic – i.e. they should be feasible given the organisation’s constraints (i.e. limited time, money, and capabilities).An example of an appropriate action step would be “We recommend a 5-step plan to recruit 10 experienced experts over the next 5 years (2 per year). This requires changing existing recruiting practices in the following ways…”Client impactUsing a current client of the business, explain the impact that implementing your recommendations will have on the business relationship.ConclusionBriefly wrap up your report.Reference listInclude your references list in Harvard format. For details and assistance on Harvard referencing, see https://student.unsw.edu.au/harvard-referencingAppendicesIf you have additional information that is important and relevant but cannot fit within the body of your report, you may include this in an appendix. Anything included in an appendix must be referred to in the body of the report.This should not be a data dump. If you can provide a reliable link or a summary, this will add more value.
Reference requirements:All materials used in this report must be referenced in Harvard format, including your interview with the senior manager. For details and assistance on Harvard referencing, see https://student.unsw.edu.au/harvard-referencingPlease note that Wikipedia is not an appropriate source for academic work as it is not reliable. Any use of Wikipedia as a reference will result in an automatic zero mark for the assessment.You must source and demonstrate the use of a minimum of three (3) additional academic and industry articles in addition to any course materials for this assignment. Academic articles must be sourced from the following list of journals:
Academy of Management Journal Australasian Marketing JournalAcademy of Management Learning and Education European Journal of MarketingAcademy of Management Perspectives Journal of MarketingAcademy of Management Review Journal of International MarketingBusiness Communication Quarterly Journal of Marketing ManagementBusiness Horizons Industrial Marketing Management Cross Cultural Management Journal of Marketing ManagementEmployee Relations Journal of Business ResearchGroup & Organization Management Journal of Business Communication Journal of Management Education Journal of Management Information Systems Organization Science Organizational Dynamics
Marking Criteria:• Demonstrates knowledge, and understanding of megatrends, context and case organisation• Critically analyses the issues and themes in the organisation using appropriate academic concepts, theories and research• Proposes solution to the problem(s) based on sound evidence and concepts / theories• Structures text logically and coherently• Communicates clearly and concisely• Presents text professionally and references sources accurately