COURSE COMM.

292
‘MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR’

TEAM PROJECT GUIDE AND INSTRUCTIONS

Introduction

The Team Project is based on the case study '_____________________’ the text of which is distributed
separately from this Guide and Instructions.

The purpose of a case study project is to help you to develop your skills in:-
• - analyzing an organizational situation;
• - identifying issues, problems and opportunities; and, where appropriate,
• - making recommendations for action and/or improvement.

In so doing, the project will enable you to combine theory and practice, by applying your course learning to a
‘real’ organization.

At the same time, this project is designed to help you to develop your teamwork skills, an area of skill that is
becoming increasingly important in the world of business and management, and in organizational life in general.
Your effective performance as a team member will therefore be an important part of this project, and will
count significantly towards your individualized project mark.

Your Task

Imagine you are a consultancy team, hired by company management to investigate and report on certain aspects
of organizational behaviour within this company. You are required to report to company Senior Management
Team on organizational behaviour issues.

Process

You must submit your analysis, findings and recommendations to the Senior Management Team at the company
in two separate formats, i.e.

• a progress report and final written management report (worth 190 marks); and
• an oral / visual in-class presentation (worth 60 marks).

The combined marks, out of 250, will then be converted to a percentage (i.e. out of 100), and this will be worth
25% of the overall grade for this course.

Guidance will be given in class on the required shape and format for both the report and the presentation.

You will be working in teams of approximately five or six students. Each team member is required to
contribute an equal share of the total work involved in the project. On this basis (but only if this happens), it is
hoped to be able to award the same mark to all the members of a team. However, if any individual student
contributes less than a reasonably equal share of the work, that student’s mark will be reduced accordingly.

In this connection, the project will include a form of peer evaluation, whereby each student’s contribution will
be assessed by his/her team colleagues. Please remember, therefore, that your final (individual) project mark
will be partly influenced by your effectiveness as a team member.

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2020 1
 CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE
WRITTEN REPORTS
PART 1: PROGRESS REPORT due on ___________________________
- quantity of material…………………………. -10
- quality of material…………………………....- 10
- organization of material……………………….-5 _______
25 points

Submit to your instructor through Canvas messages on ____________________ using the subject: Progress
Report COMM 292 Team _____, on letter size bond paper, using font size 11-12 and using only either Calibri,
Arial or Times New Roman fonts. One Progress Report is to be submitted in for your team.

To ensure that you are on track and prepared for your deadlines, prepare a task assignment plan (who does what
and when to submit) for the instructor in your Progress Report as well as the three issues or problems identified
in the case, the causes of which and the related theories. Please follow report outline below and is approximately
1-4 pages.

Late submissions will be deducted 20% for each day beyond the due date. The report MUST include a
screenshot of a report from the Writing and Learning Centre Commerce (WLC) tutor. Your instructor will
not even read your progress report without an accompanying WLC tutor report. One of your team members
should be designated to email this to your instructor in class on the date that it’s due. See course schedule for due
date.

Last Name, First Name (all team members) Issue/problem 1 (in a statement of the
Task/Responsibilities (of each member) for problem format)
this Progress Review/Report What caused this issue/problem? (in a
Task/Responsibilities (of each member) for sentence format)
the final written report with due dates 1.
Task/Responsibilities (of each member) for 2.
the oral presentation with due dates 3.
Related theories: Concept(s) and theory(ies)
Introduction – facts about the case (who, you learned in class that you can relate to
what, when, where) this issue and the causes of it.

Issue/problem 2 (in a statement of the Issue/problem 3 (in a statement of the

problem format) problem format)
What caused this issue/problem? (in a What caused this issue/problem? (in a
sentence format) sentence format)
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
Related theories: Concept(s) and theory(ies) Related theories: Concept(s) and theory(ies)
you learned in class that you can relate to this you learned in class that you can relate to
issue and the causes of it. this issue and the causes of it.

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2020 2
 CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE
FINAL WRITTEN REPORT
PART 2: FINAL WRITTEN REPORT

Submit to your instructor through Canvas messages on ____________________ using the subject:
Final Written Report COMM 292 Team _____, on letter size bond paper, using font size 11-12 and using only
either Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman fonts. One final written report is to be emailed in for your team.

Late submissions will be deducted 20% for each day beyond the due date. The report MUST include a
screenshot of a report from the Writing and Learning Centre Commerce (WLC) tutor. Your instructor will
not even read your progress report without an accompanying WLC tutor report. One of your team members
should be designated to email this to your instructor in class on the date that it’s due. See course schedule for due
date.

- Executive Summary/Abstract………………………….. -10

- Introduction and Background ………………………… -10

- Identification of key points, issues, problems, etc……...-20 ) within the

- Application and use of course material and other ) Main Body
academic material………………………………………...-30 ) of the
- Depth and detail of understanding demonstrated……...-20 ) report

- Conclusions ………………………………………………-20

- Number, range and quality of sources consulted………-10

- Correct use of academic referencing/citation…………...-10
- Quality of written English……………………………….-20
(grammar, spelling, tone, style)
- Quality of general presentation of report………………-10
(cover, layout, structure, spacing, fonts, etc.)
- Selection and use of a suitable name for your team……...5
(originality, relevance for human resources management)
165 points

The length of the basic report should be within the range 10-12 pages, plus any appropriate appendices/addenda,
cover page, table of contents, and executive summary / abstract.

The report must contain the following features:

1. Be prepared on a computer and be submitted on single-sided standard-sized letter paper (8.5 x 11 in. (216
x 279 mm.)

2. Have a front cover, showing:- course title, course code, title of project, project team name and number,
names of the project team members, name of instructor, and date of submission.

3. Use double line-spacing, and have a wide left-hand margin.

4. Have a detailed ‘Contents’ page.

5. Have individually-numbered pages.

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2020 3
 6. Have a clear and logical structure, using headings and sub-headings where appropriate.

7. Use the A.P.A citation system for the correct academic referencing of any published works referred to,
summarized, paraphrased, or quoted from. (See page 8 for more information.)

8. Be written in Times New Roman font style, with a font size of 12 or 11 (but you may, if you wish, use
different font styles and sizes for any headings and sub-headings only.

USING THE CASE ANALYSIS MODEL

The following represent the steps that you should take in working through your case. You will not necessarily
submit the evidence from each step in your report, but the analysis done at each step will provide the necessary
foundation upon which to write your report.

Step 1: Inventory of Facts Brief listing of key facts (people, places, events, dates, results,
etc.) in the case.

Step 2: Statement of Problem(s) Concise statement of major problem(s) / issues in the case;
Problems /issues stated as things to be corrected or resolved.
Group any related problems together.

Step 3: Analysis of Causes Identification and analysis of all possible causes of the
problem(s) / issues in the case.

Step 4: Theory Application l Identification of all theories or models that might apply to these
problems/ issues and their causes.

Step 5: List of Possible Solutions Identification of possible solutions to each problem / issue as
stated; what objectives are achieved with each solution?

Step 6: Justification of Preferred Presentation of recommended solution(s) and justification for

Solution your choice(s). You should not present every possibility; rather
you should limit yourself to presenting the most convincing,
cohesive solution(s).

Step 7: Evaluation of Preferred What are the implications (positive and negative consequences
Solution of your decision(s)?

Step 8: Theory Application ll Which theories are most applicable in this situation? Why? Use
the theories to help you justify your choice of solution(s).

Step 9: Implementation How would you introduce and carry out your solution(s)?
(if required) Provide specific action plans for short- and long-term.

In producing your report, you must explain your findings, justify the points you make by citing supporting
evidence from the case text, and explain any assumptions that you make. Your analysis, findings and
recommendations must be related to appropriate theories, models, concepts and principles of management and
organizational behavior included in the course textbook, course hand-out notes, and any other suitable (i.e.
relevant and credible) sources.

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Late submissions will be deducted 20% for each day beyond the due date. You may include charts, graphs and
diagrams that are relevant to your discussion to emphasize points in your document. This part of your project
MUST include the emailed report from the Writing and Learning Centre Commerce tutor. No report from
the WLC tutor means a 50% deduction. One of your team members should be designated to email this to your
instructor in class on the date that it’s due. Please follow report outline below. The final written paper is worth
165 marks. See course schedule for due date.

Recommended format and contents for the final written report:

Page Contents Description of Contents Remarks
1 Cover Page COMM 292 Section Management and Organizational Behaviour
Team Project for Case Title
Team name/number: _____________________
Team members: Last Name, First Name of all team members
(alphabetically arranged)

2 Table of Contents Heading: Table of Contents

Contents per page with equivalent page numbers including
appendices and references

3 Executive Heading: Executive Summary

Summary A one-page summary of your entire paper's contents, from
introduction all the way to your conclusion, providing specific
details of the contents.

4 Introduction Heading: Introduction (approximately 1-1.5 pages)

Refer to inventory of facts in the case analysis model

5-12 Contents Headings according to how it was recommended in your Progress

Review (please follow APA in-text citation, with running head, in-
text citations and referencing)

Issues
Causes
Relevant Theories
Alternative/Possible Solutions with Advantages and
Disadvantages
Preferred Solution(s) and Justifications
Relevant Theories (if applicable)
Recommendation and Implementation of your Preferred
Solution

Please note that you should write the report using detailed
discussions and in a report-paragraph format. Use bullet points
only if necessary. Figures, graphs and tables may be included for
as long as it makes sense in your discussion. Do not simply copy
and paste a figure, graph or table you learned from the lecture,
rather personalize it according to your how it applies to your case
discussions.

12 Conclusion Heading: Conclusion ((approximately 1-1.5 pages)

A brief summary of your issues, solutions and recommendations

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 13 References Heading: References (please follow APA referencing style)
- minimum of 3 academic references required (A MUST)

14+ Appendices Heading: Appendices

• Include your task assignment (who did what including %
contribution to the overall work)
• Tutor reports of your visits to the Writing and Learning Centre
(A MUST)
• Include any other documents that you identified as important
to this report

CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE

IN-CLASS ORAL/VISUAL PRESENTATION
PART 3: IN-CLASS ORAL/VISUAL PRESENTATION scheduled on _______________________

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

Criterion Example Aspects Marks Available

Professionalism Appearance; co-ordination; impact 10

Content Quality; relevance; effectiveness 10
Structure and Sequence Appropriate organization of material into
sections and sub-sections; sequencing
of material 5
Time Management Suitable time allocations; keeping within time limit 5
Quality of Delivery Tone, clarity, confidence, volume, pace of speech;
maintaining eye contact with audience 10
Visual Aids Quality of design; value of content; appropriate use 10
Creativity The inclusion of something different/unusual/unique 10

Total Marks 60

Each presentation must be timed to last within the range 12 to 15 minutes.

Each student must take part in, and make an active and approximately equal contribution to his / her team’s
presentation. The ‘audience’ for each presentation will consist of the Course Instructor (representing the Chief
Executive Officer), and all the members of the other student project teams in the class (representing other
members of the company’s Senior Management Team).

Every project team is strongly encouraged to integrate the use of some visual media into their presentation, as
this will almost certainly enhance both the quality and impact of their presentations and result in a higher
mark being awarded. If you include a video, please limit it to only 1. It should be less than 2 minutes long.
Your presentation should not exceed 15 minutes. You may be cut off when you go over the time limit.

An average of 12-15 slides is suggested for your oral presentation since there is a time limit. You will decide on
what contents of written report you would like to include in your PPT slides but must include all of the major
topics as outlined above. Your goal is to share your research in a manner that will be understood and appreciated
by your audience, which includes your instructor. Do not copy and paste your written paper content to your PPT

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2020 6
slides. Instead, use bullet points to summarize the important points. Use pictures and graphs as necessary. Your
last slide must include your references, using APA format, including that of pictures and videos used in your
presentation.

Don’t read the slides. You will immediately loose marks. Talk about your topic. All group members should
present, assigning one member of the team to be in-charge of the PPT presentation. This is a business
presentation so presenters are expected to dress professionally during your scheduled presentation.

Every team is also encouraged to include a creative element in their presentation. Such creativity normally
enhances the impact and uniqueness of the presentation, and results in a higher mark being awarded. It is
suggested that you check the suitability of your creative ideas with your Instructor, in advance of the
presentations.

One day before the presentation, each project team must submit, to the Course Instructor, an emailed copy of
any visual aids used in their presentation, so that it can be referred to by the Instructor when the presentation is
subsequently being assessed.

Any team requiring assistance with the preparation and / or setting up of their presentation should notify the
Course Instructor of their needs by e-mail or in person as soon as possible and, in any event, not later than
________________.

ACADEMIC REFERENCING, AVOIDING PLAGIARISM,

AND LEGITIMATE SOURCES OF HELP

General Points

Normal academic rules about using, quoting, summarizing, or referring to published work, and avoiding
plagiarism, will apply. All material taken from other sources that you use in any of these ways must be correctly
referenced in accordance with one of the following officially recognized and accepted systems:-

The A.P.A. (American Psychological Association) style

Guidance for using this particular systems is available through attending an A.PA. Citation Workshop run by the
Alexander College Writing and Learning Centre. Guidance is also available at Purdue University’s On-Line
Writing Lab at:-
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/

and from the Alexander College Librarians and the tutors of the College’s Writing and Learning Centre.

Referencing of Class Notes

You may wish to quote from, summarize, or refer to material taken from the following sources:-

A class hand-out note, in which the original source of the material is cited.
A class hand-out note with no specific reference shown.
Notes that you yourself wrote from a lecture you attended.

It is, of course, totally acceptable to do this, and you are encouraged to do so. However, even these sources should
also be properly cited, and there are correct ways of doing it.

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2020 7
Further Help

For further help with this aspect of your work, and with other aspects of the Team Project, you should consult only
the following:- your Course Instructor, staff of the College’s Student Writing and Learning Centre, and the
College Librarians. AS A REQUIREMENT OF THIS PROJECT, EACH TEAM MUST FULFIL AT
LEAST ONE COMPLETE APPOINTMENT AT THE WRITING AND LEARNING CENTRE.

If you wish to obtain help from anyone other than the above, you must obtain approval in advance from your
Course Instructor. IF IT IS FOUND THAT A TEAM, OR ANY MEMBER(S) OF A TEAM, OBTAINED
HELP FROM AN EXTERNAL SOURCE WITHOUT SUCH PRIOR APPROVAL, THAT TEAM IS
LIKELY TO BE AWARDED A MARK OF ‘ZERO’ FOR THE PROJECT.

Important Warning

Please note that the use of other people’s work/material without proper referencing constitutes plagiarism; this is
a serious academic offence which in, accordance with College policy, is likely to result in a mark of ‘zero’ and
possible additional penalties.

TEAM PROJECT - PEER EVALUATION FORM

TEAM NUMBER _______ LEADER’S NAME_________________________

Please indicate below whether, in your opinion, equal or differing marks should be awarded to the members of
your team in respect of the team project. You may decide that each member deserves an equal share of the
mark, in which case each team member would receive a peer evaluation of “1.00.” Alternatively, you might
feel that some members of the team deserve less than 1.00, while others deserve more than 1.00. Whatever
marks you are recommending, the sum of the evaluations for all members on your form must be equal to the
total number of members in your team. Please ensure that you include a rating for yourself, as part of this
process.

Names of Team Members Your Recommended Initialed by Person

(alphabetical order of surname) Proportion of the Mark Being Evaluated

___________________________ _______ __________

___________________________ _______ __________

___________________________ _______ __________

___________________________ _______ __________

___________________________ _______ __________

___________________________ _______ __________

If you have awarded a peer evaluation of less than 0.90 to any member(s) of your team, please briefly explain,
below, their behaviour(s) that caused you to do this:-

___________________________________________________________________________________

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2020 8
Peer Evaluation Criteria

In deciding the peer evaluation marks you wish to award to the members of your team, it is suggested that you
use the following performance criteria as a guide:-

Participation
- attends team meetings; takes part in discussions and decision-making.

Emotional Support
- helps to support, maintain and enhance team spirit and morale.

Collaboration
- co-operates fully and effectively with other team members; shows flexibility and a and adaptability;
helps to make it possible for all team members to make a fair contribution.

Communication
- communicates clearly and effectively with other team members; provides timely and constructive
criticism and feedback; responds promptly to communication from other team members.

Attitude
- shows enthusiasm for the project; has a positive approach to the work; is able to give and receive
criticism in a constructive manner.

Organization
- is effective in planning his/her own work, prioritizing tasks and managing time; shares information and
ideas in a logical and coherent manner.

Role Fulfillment
- meets all deadlines; delivers high-quality work on, or ahead of, time; meets all assigned responsibilities.

Notes:-
• Your peer evaluation should take into account all the work undertaken in the preparation and production of
your team’s written report, and in preparing and delivering your team’s in-class presentation.
• Your Instructor will be responsible for determining each individual’s final mark for the project, and will
be the final arbiter in case of any disagreement.
• Your completed peer evaluation form must be handed in to your Instructor, together with those of your team
colleagues, by the start of the final class session on _____________________
• Failure to hand in your completed peer evaluation form on time will result in a penalty in the form of a
deduction from your individual project score of five percentage points; don’t let this happen to you!

REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK

The success of any team depends on the commitment and effective contributions of all its members. This
principle applies to all forms of team activity in all types of context, whether it be in business, sport, adventure,
education, charity, community, entertainment, and even emergency and disaster relief.

Working in a team gives you an opportunity to make a worthwhile and satisfying contribution to something
bigger than you could hope to achieve on your own. It also gives you an opportunity to learn from other people
– your team colleagues – as you work together on your task.

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While working on this Team Project, please keep the following important points in mind:

1. Remember at all times that this is a team project. Throughout the project, you are required to work as an
effective member of your team. This means that you must make an equal contribution to the operation
and output of your team. The final page of this Briefing Document (the back of the peer evaluation form)
outlines some of the specific ways in which you can contribute.

2. Only work that represents the efforts of your team as a whole will be accepted for assessment. Any
student(s) who disengage(s) from their team and attempt(s) to submit a separate piece of work will
automatically receive a mark of ‘zero’ for the project.

3. All the members of each team will be held accountable both individually and collectively for the work
they submit for assessment. For instance, if any part of the project is plagiarized, all the members of that
team will receive a mark of ‘zero.’

4. It is not teamwork to just divide the project between you, with each member producing a part, and then to
simply add those parts together and submit them as one piece of work. While it is acceptable and often
practical to begin in this way, you must then work together to check and improve each part collectively
as a team, to enhance the overall quality and cohesiveness. Finally, all team members should be
reasonably satisfied with the work, and accept ownership of it and responsibility for it.

5. As part of the Course Contract signed by students at the start of this course, every student agreed to
make a full and equal contribution to the Team Project (refer to your copy of the Contract).

6. If any student is failing to fulfill his/her responsibilities to the team, the other team members should
draw this to the attention of the student concerned as soon as possible, and help and encourage that
student to become an equal contributor. If this should prove unsuccessful, the team should then notify
the Instructor at the earliest opportunity (do not wait until the final week of the project!).

7. As there are students with different first languages in each team, it is essential that everyone speaks only
in English during all team meetings, so that everyone has an equal opportunity to understand and
participate.

Original by: David Crawford Revised by: Aurora Faundo / Fall 2020 10