Written Assignment: Practical Problems in Organizations
What follows is the outline to be used in grading this paper.
Many organizations and organizational members experience difficulties or problems in applying basic organizational behavior principles effectively to organizational circumstances. For example: team members may have difficulty getting along with one another or in performing effectively. Managers may perceive their employees as difficult to motivate or unconcerned about performance. Organizational inefficiencies may result from impaired communication in organizations.
All of us have, throughout our working lives, experienced these sorts of problems from time to time. What you will be asked to do in this paper is to describe one such organizational situation and apply your new OB knowledge to that problem. You are asked to:
I. Describe an organizational situation in which problems were encountered. You should focus on a situation which involves one or more of the following OB variables: motivation, communication, teamwork and group process. Describe the experience in some detail and explain how this affected organizational performance.
A. Situational Description:
B. Impact on Organizational Performance:
II. Diagnose this situation in terms of organizational behavior (OB) concepts. What was done wrong in the situation? Why did the firm or the employees experience negative outcomes? Use material from your text AND FROM OTHER SOURCES to guide your analysis. Provide examples to support your analysis. Use a minimum of at least four sources in addition to your text.
A. Identification of Problems:
B. Assessment of Problem Causation:
III. Using material from the course textbook, make recommendations about how this situation could be improved. Be as specific as possible, indicating why you made your recommendations and what improvements in performance you expect to see as a result of your suggested actions. Explain how you would implement your recommendations and overcome potential resistance to your recommendations.
A. Recommendations/Expected Improvements:
B. Implementation Strategies: