Review a classic article by Peter Drucker - one of the world's foremost and influential authorities on management theory from the latter half of the twentieth century. By reviewing Drucker's predictions, as made in 1988, and preparing a research-based review you have an opportunity to consider a significant amount of the fundamental management theory, particularly organisational theory, and people management theory studied in this unit as to how it directly applies to organisations and managing organisations today.
By critically reviewing Drucker's article, published in the late twentieth century, and comparing it to how organisations exist and are managed over twenty six years later the following learning outcomes for this unit are targeted by this assignment:
- Unit Learning Outcome 2: Understand contemporary theories, processes, and methods of managing organisations
- Unit Learning Outcome 6: Apply contemporary theories and methods to organise and manage human resources.
What You Need to Do:
Starting with what we have studied this trimester, especially in the second and third learning modules (Management Fundamentals, Managing People) we want you to independently research, design, and develop a concise and original report that covers (but is not limited to) the following issues and topics:
o How significant have advances in information and communication technologies since the late 1980's been on how we do business? And how have the major types of businesses that exist changed over this time?
o Has the nature of work changed since the 1980's? Do we now perform different tasks in the workplace? Do we perform the same tasks but differently (e.g., by using new technologies)? Do we do both?
o Do most people now have greater control and self-management (autonomy) over what and how they perform their work in the organisation? Is there less reliance on "command and control" methods of managing people today?
o Has there been a change in how we manage people (our human resources) since the 1980's? If so, what influenced this change in management theory and practice? What are the major changes?
o Have organisations significantly changed in structure since the late 1980's? Are there trends in organisational structure observable by comparing specific organisations' structures as they were in the 1980's to how they are today?
o Do your own career experiences add insight to how organisational structures, how we work, and how we manage or are managed? (Don't forget any casual or part-time work experience, e.g., if you were a sales assistant at the local store of a national retailer then reflect on how that organisation was structured, the nature of your work for your job, and how you were managed.)
o Take a holistic perspective and consider the following question: how accurate was Peter Drucker with his predictions?
Requirements for this Assignment
- This assignment is to be undertaken individually by all students. Make sure that any analysis you present is your own
- not simply a summary of what is presented in source or reference materials. Don't cheat, plagiarise, or collude. It is your responsibility to understand what cheating, plagiarism, and collusion are; how to avoid it in your academic work; and understand what the penalties and consequences are. Information about cheating, plagiarism, and collusion is provided in every unit guide for this Faculty and is also available on Deakin's website.
- Design and use a report layout that includes sections with section headings. How many sections in your report and what the headings for those sections are is for you to decide with one exception - your report must include a Bibliography section at the end of the report. Your ability to demonstrate a sufficient competency in designing and producing effective written reports is one of the learning objectives (DGLO 2) of this assignment.
- Don't waste time with fancy layouts, colours, cover pages, and so on. A simple text-based format should be sufficient for your report. Use any figures, diagrams, charts, graphs, or tables sparingly and only if they are relevant and add value to your report. Use a basic and common text font such as Arial or Times New Roman with at least 10 point font size for body text. Single-spaced paragraphs are acceptable. (This document uses Arial 10 single-spaced in the body text.)
- Your submitted report will be marked according to the marking rubric available in the Summative Assignment 2 folder on CloudDeakin. The rubric (marking scheme) also indicates what Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs) and Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes (DGLOs) are specifically addressed in the marking scheme for this assignment.
- This assignment is worth 20 marks (20%) of the total assessment for this unit this trimester. Yes, that means this assignment has a significant value and weight towards your overall summative assessment for this unit so a correspondingly reasonable effort into designing, researching, and developing your report is expected.
- The word limit is 1500 words minimum to 3000 words maximum not including the Bibliography Section. That's a 3dB range for the acceptable word count for this assignment. It is recommended that you aim to produce a report that is somewhere in the middle of this range to save any last minute "padding" or "cutting".
o The word count includes the first word of the first section heading to the last word of the second-last section in the report. It does not include the last section which will be the Bibliography section. Any included figures, diagrams, charts, graphs, or tables (and their associated labels) are not included in the word count.
- There must be a Bibliography Section in your report. It is reasonable to expect at least six relevant citations coming from at least four independent sources in total for this assignment: that means there should be at least six entries in your Bibliography Section. Use a suitable referencing style such as the Harvard Style which is commonly used at Deakin University.
- For any help and assistance with improving your general academic skills (such as researching, report writing, referencing) then make sure to utilise the online resources such as the Study Support section on the main Deakin student webpage, and the the Study and Research sections on the main webpage for Deakin Library. For personal assistance make sure to utilise the student mentoring service and the library services. Also Caroline from the library is available via her discussion forum on CloudDeakin, by email, and by-appointment consultations at the library.
Caroline also has provided a set of academic skills resources in the Research and Study Support folder on CloudDeakin.
Attachment:- Assignment.rar