PRMB022 Organisational Behaviour Assignment #2 Case Study
ASSIGNMENT 2 – TASK AND GUIDANCE
Stimulus Article
Scenario
Task
Purpose
Guidance
The article on which this assignment is based,
‘WA Police documents reveal bullying, corruption, discrimination’, can be found at http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/westernaustralia/documents-reveal-bullying-corruption-discrimination-in-wapolice/story-e6frg13u-1225969425509.
You work for a consulting firm that has been contracted by the WA Police Commissioner to advise on how they would establish a more positive culture.
The Commissioner wants you to complete a report that outline:
1. What needs to change in the culture to make it more positive, i.e., what must be done to address the concerns detailed in the stimulus article, and
2. How the Commissioner should manage the change process to give the organisation the best chance of changing in the desired fashion
The reason for conducting this assignment as a case study is to give you the opportunity to apply the theories to a real organisation in a scenario that is realistic and therefore, complex. There is no easy solution to identifying how to change a culture or how to manage that change to a successful conclusion. This assignment lets you experience that complexity and challenge without the additional pressure of actually working for the organisation.
It is meant to test your ability to consider how best to apply the theory, but it is not meant to be impossible. With appropriate research of the relevant unit topics (see below), you should be able to develop a range of options for recommendation. The task is then to figure out which might be suitable for the WA Police and how to implement those changes.
You have 2500 words in which to address those two issues for the
Commissioner. You should aim for a split of that word count of about 50% for each issue, but must not make the split more than 60-40, i.e., your discussion of either issue cannot take more than 1500 words.
You will not be able to address all of the issues raised in the article and so pick one or some that either interest you or that you think are most critical. Focus on those, e.g., claims of bullying or corruption might be something you wish to address. If you can address a single issue in sufficient depth without repetition and/or reliance on insignificant discussion, then addressing only one issue is fine. Otherwise, address as many as you like, as long as you are doing so in a substantial fashion. [The marker will be provided with this guidance and will know that you are not expected to address all of the issues]
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PRMB022 Organisational Behaviour Assignment #2 Case Study
As you have a scenario from which to work, I would not expect to see much use of examples from other situations or workplaces to illustrate your points. The exception to this would be, where applicable, you are using an example of where a cultural change you are recommending has been successfully made elsewhere (and this should come from a scholarly resource, not your own experience or anecdotal sources).
Also on the scenario, I do not expect you to know anything special about the WA Police to be able to complete the task. You can obviously get information from their website and/or news articles, but where you need additional information you can make reasonable assumptions, remembering the type of organisation that you are looking at. You must indicate such assumptions in a brief footnote so that the marker is aware that you are relying on the assumption rather than confirmed information (for which you would have to cite a source).
The two areas of the unit that are most directly relevant to your task are organisational culture and organisational change, but the rest of the unit is also relevant. For example, you might make suggestions of organisational structure changes to influence the culture. You will be marked down if your recommendations and discussion ignore other areas of the unit, e.g., if you make a range of recommendations that will have an impact on individual motivation but fail to address that impact. The focus for the assignment is definitely on culture and change, but you will not be demonstrating a sufficient integration of the unit materials if you overlook the consequences of those recommended cultural changes.
Don’t take up space reciting the theory relating to culture and change – you don’t have sufficient space to do more than introduce the theories before you apply them to help address the scenario. Assignments with lengthy theoretical discussions will be closely scrutinised to ensure there is adequate engagement with the set task.
Preparation The case study in Weeks 11 and 12 is an identical task, only for a different organisation with a different set of problems. The practice case study will help you to identify ways in which to frame your discussion and recommendations. Research the WA Police, the cultural issue/s that you wish to change and the management of organisational change. Having prepared that information before you start your case study will help you to apply the learning from the practice case study.
Note – Read this document with the ‘PRBM022 Assignment 2 Brief’, ‘Assessments’ that is available from the unit information on the CDU Learnline site
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