Essay: Analyzing a Negative Situation in an Organization 1. Find an article in a reputable newspaper or magazine (e.g., Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, etc.) reporting a story on a single organization that is doing something poorly (involving organizational behavior/management). 2. Summarize the organization and its negative policies and/or outcomes. What are they doing? What have been the outcomes thus far? 3. Analyze the organization with organizational behavior concepts you have learned in class. What is the organization doing poorly? What should the organization improve, fix, or change to improve? What are the costs/benefits of their particular organizational strategies? You should aim to apply 2-4 specific OB concepts from the course to your analysis. 4. End with a couple of paragraphs on recommendations for organizations more generally. What is the “take home message” of your analysis? If you were a consultant, what would you recommend to other organizations moving forward? What lessons from the organization you’ve analyzed should be extended to the running of organizations more generally?
Some General Notes • Make sure that the articles you find are on organizational behavior – that is, behavior of groups/teams within organizations (i.e., management) – not on marketing, or strategy, or any other functions of a business • Remember that organizations include governments, not-for-profits, clubs, unions, sports teams, etc. – you don’t have to just write on a for-profit business • Although you are only required to find a single newspaper or magazine article to be the basis of your essays, it is highly recommended to consult multiple sources to provide more details on the organization and/or the organizational situation for your analysis • It will be difficult to receive an excellent mark unless you provide substantial details on your organization of choice and their policies (for the “depth of analysis” mark) • The bulk of your essay should focus on analysis of the organizational issue in the context of OB concepts.